Walk Like a Feline
by biological.experiment
Summary: Twilight's been altered, or more so, Bella has. With a unique gift, Bella's thrown into the world of the supernatural. Gunna try sticking it close to the original first book with just a few tweaks. Bella/Victoria/Esme endgame.
1. Chapter 1

**Ch. 1**

I have never given much thought to how I would die. If I had to pick, I would say that dying in the place of someone I love appeared to be a good way to go. After all, doing anything for someone you love should be enough of a motivation. Granted, it was not to the extreme of dying that my decision was made to leave home. However, it was to the extreme of loving someone that helped refrained potential regret.

Yes, I will miss Phoenix. I will miss the heat, and I will miss the warmth. I will especially miss my loving, erratic, harebrained mother…and her husband. But…

Glancing down at the barrel cactus in her hands, brown orbs studied the small plant that resided in between a jean clad lap.

…It was time to go.

Curling her fingers tightly around the small clay pot, Bella pulled it closer to her torso, ever mindful of the thorns.

It was the only thing that she had brought from Phoenix, the only connection that would remind her of the past sixteen years. Yes, she had her clothes, books, and other personal belongings - all of which had been shipped earlier that week - but those items were not rooted to Phoenix; just like she was not.

"Your hair's longer."

Lifting her head at the sound of the gruff voice, Bella studied the man beside her as their car took them down the winding road.

A few months earlier, Bella had decided that it was time to let Renee and Phil actually live their lives without the strain of taking care of someone like her. With that thought in mind, Bella only had one place to go: Charlie's.

It had been years since she had last seen her father, but from what she could tell, Charlie had hardly changed. He was still the somber, neatly dressed man that she recalled from her childhood. Eyeing the uniform her father currently wore, Bella glanced at the badge before remembering that her father had been made the chief of police a few years back. That might explain why his hair, although a chestnut brown like hers, now contained speckles of grey, despite being in his early 40s.

"I cut it since last time I saw you," Bella eventually replied.

"Guess it grew out again."

Charlie's short response was met with a simple nod, which in turn led to more silence.

Like her, Charlie possessed a taciturn, introverted persona. Between the two of them, the cruiser had been encompassed in silence as the two made their way from the airport at Port Angeles to their home in Forks, Washington.

Under a constant cover of cloud and rain, the small town had a rough population of 3,246 residents. Well, 3,247 if you included Bella into the mix.

This will be a good thing, or so Bella prayed. However, as she turned her gaze away from her father to stare out the police cruiser's window, Bella's certainty faded.

It had been dark when the plane had landed, and the mass of evergreens and rain did nothing to lighten the mood or make her feel welcomed. Even as the cruiser cut through the logging town that was to be her permanent residence for the next year, Bella felt nothing for the familiar sights.

Deciding to move back to Forks was not for sentimental reasons, however. No, it was simply a means to an end. It would allow her foster parents, and herself, to start anew. With this in mind, Bella was determined to finish the last year of high school as a normal teenager. No one would learn of her secret, including Charlie.

"Well. We're here," Charlie finally spoke as he pulled into the driveway.

Staring out the window, Bella took in the familiar sights.

A woodshed, full of firewood; a small boat tucked safely away in the detached garage; fishing gear leaning against the porch; and there amongst it all, the old two-story house she had been raised in. Besides the weathered appearance, mostly due to a combination of the faded and chipped paint, the house looked the same.

Lost in memories, it was another minute before Bella climbed out of the cruiser and helped her father carry her bags inside the house.

As Bella stepped through the door and into the foyer, Bella paused for a second time. Just like the outside of the house, the inside had been frozen in time. It was outdated and unstylish, but it still felt like home; comfortable and lived-in. Bella could not help but relax as she was surrounded by the flood of memorabilia that lingered in sight.

"I put Grandpa's old desk in your room. Also, I cleared some shelves in the bathroom."

Her thoughts broken by the sound of her father's voice, Bella realized that Charlie had already made it halfway up the stairs.

"Oh, right. There's only one bathroom," Bella murmured while hefting her bags to follow after her father.

"Well, here we are," Charlie said as he set the bags down and turned the handle to a door she had not seen in over a decade.

Standing in the doorway, Bella took in the sight of her room. Hardly a thing had changed. Posters from her youth lingered on the walls. Similarly, intertwined with the posters was an array of photos of herself and Charlie or pictures that she had once drew. By the bed were shelves in need of a fresh coat of paint, and on top stood aged trinkets and stuffed animals. The bed, Bella noticed, did have a fresh new comforter, however.

"It's a good working lamp," Charlie began, breaking the silence as he continued talking about the desk. However, as he caught his daughter's gaze, Charlie raised a hand to rub awkwardly at the back of his neck. "The sales lady picked out the bed stuff. You…you like purple, right?"

Unable to help it, Bella felt a soft smile tug at the corner of her lips at the sound of her father's uncertainty. "Purple's cool. Thanks."

"Yeah, okay. Well then." Charlie cleared his throat. "I'm going to let you unpack. If you need anything, just holler."

"Thanks Char-dad," Bella murmured. "Good night." That was one thing she always remembered about Charlie, he never hovered. Bella could not appreciate anything more about him than that at the current moment.

Waiting for Charlie to leave, Bella turned and shut the door behind him before moving over to the window. Making sure it was shut and latched; Bella pulled the curtains closed before turning to study her room. It was late and she really did not feel like unpacking. After all, there was not much of a rush. With the timing of her move, she had entered halfway during the spring semester. Since spring break would soon begin, Charlie had agreed for her to wait until after the break to attend class.

With two weeks before she would start school, Bella decided she would rather call it a night and settle things in the morning. Turning off the lights in her room, Bella became enveloped in darkness. Knowing that it would not do for Charlie to come back and discover that she was moving around in the dark, Bella made her way over to the small lamp that Charlie had indicated earlier and turned it on. For now, she would allow her father to think of her as the klutz he remembered.

Opening up one of the boxes labeled "clothes," Bella sifted through her outfits before pulling out a pair of boy shorts and one of her favorite night shirts. Setting them on the new comforter, Bella grabbed her travel bag from her luggage and went in search for the bathroom to get ready for bed. It was a few minutes later that Bella returned to her room.

Double checking that the door was locked, Bella finally shut off the lights. It was there, in the dark that Bella changed for the night and climbed into bed. As she pulled the covers up over her shoulders, Bella snuggled into the unfamiliar scent of new bedding. With heavily laden eyes, Bella fell asleep, unaware of the flickering tail that escaped the comforter to dangle in the night air.

* * *

Resting a photo of her and Renee on a shelf above the antique roll-top desk, Bella bit back a sigh. It had been nearly two weeks since she had left Phoenix; nearly two weeks since she had heard from her surrogate mother and the loneliness was finally starting to overwhelm her.

Bella had tried to stay busy since arriving. She had unpacked everything the following morning and over the next handful of days revamped her room and parts of the house, much to Charlie's initial shock. In retrospect, Bella was uncertain if the shock came from the flood of new paint, shelves, and cookware, or the fact that Bella had been caught using power tools when her father decided to swing by the house for a late lunch.

Thankfully, it had just been a drill that round. However, there had been multiple times when Bella had to quickly stash the other tools out of sight, especially the air compressor, the belt and disc sanders, and not to mention the numerous saws. In the end, it did not take Bella long to discover that she would have to be more careful about which projects she worked on in front of Charlie, especially after the scolding she received for being on the ladder as she replaced a few window panes from the outside.

It was worth the trouble, however. After the first day of looking around, Bella quickly realized how much had gone unchanged in her absence. Whether it was due to sentimental reasons or to the simple fact that Charlie was still a bachelor, the place needed more than just a womanly touch to the place.

By the end of her list, Bella had upgraded her bedroom from glittery pinks and vibrant purples to something more subdue. Opting for soft greens and browns, Bella quickly turned the foreign room into a safe haven to call her own. Similarly, she took over the kitchen. After discovering that there was hardly any edible food for a growing teen, let alone a grown adult, Bella persuaded Charlie to update the utensils and kitchen ware. Thankfully, Charlie was more than willing to pay for the new additions, especially if it meant Bella gave up the power tools.

Unfortunately, no matter the amount of effort she had put into the house, Bella still did not feel like she was home.

Sighing, Bella traced her fingertip along the edge of the picture frame.

She missed Renee and the freedom of her foster parents knowing her secret. Perhaps she should tell Charlie, or at least she could tell him that she was no longer the klutz that he remembered. On the contrary, Bella had grown to be rather graceful over the past handful of years.

Before Bella could make up her mind, her ears twitched faintly in the sunlight as a honk echoed through the old house. Curious, Bella moved across the hall to glance out the window. Pulling the curtain aside, Bella's brows furrowed slightly as she watched as a faded red truck pulled into the driveway beside her father's cruiser.

Lingering at the window, Bella continued to watch as two men exited the cab. First was the driver, a young Quileute Indian. Amiable with long black hair and a childish roundness to his features, the boy walked around the back of the truck, only to reemerge on the other side. Continuing to study the driver, perhaps a year her junior, Bella watched as he helped the passenger out of the seat and into a wheelchair. Under closer inspection, Bella noticed similar characteristics in the man.

After a moment, Bella realized that the man was the same person who occupied many of the few photos scattered about the house. "So that's Billy," Bella murmured before glancing back at the boy. "Then that must be Jacob."

It had been years since she had seen either one of them.

"I heard you guys coming all the way down the road," Charlie teased as he greeted first Billy and then Jacob.

Snorting, Bella agreed with her father. Even without her sensitive hearing, she would have heard the truck coming a mile away.

"Good to see you, too," Billy chuckled. "Where's the girl?"

"Bella? Inside I think. Let me get her."

Stepping away from the window, Bella glanced at the mirror she had placed in the hall above the stairs. Straightening her faded t-shirt, Bella quickly checked her appearance to make sure all was in order and was descending the stairs even as her father opened the front door.

"Bella! Billy and Ja- Oh." Charlie cleared his throat when he realized Bella was standing right in front of him at the bottom of the stairs.

"Bella, you remember Billy Black," Charlie introduced as he quickly backtracked so Bella could come outside.

"Glad you're finally here," Billy greeted as Bella descended the steps.

"Hey there, you're looking good," Bella returned, stopping in the driveway next to the three men.

"Well, I'm still dancing," Billy grinned. "Really though, it's good you're here. Charlie hasn't shut up about it since you told him you were coming."

Arching an eyebrow at her father, Bella watched as her father puffed up a bit in embarrassment.

"Keep exaggerating and I'll wheel you down that hill," Charlie threatened playfully, eager to change the topic.

"Ha! Right after I ram you in the ankles, that is," Billy retorted.

"Oh yeah? Bring it!"

Giggling, Bella watched as Billy took several rolls at her father, who simply dodged out of harm's way time and time again.

Shaking his head, Jacob approached Bella as the two old men played in the road. "Hi. I'm Jacob," the boy introduced, rather shyly for his size. "We made mud pies together when we were little kids," Jacob continued when Bella looked on without recognition.

"Yeah… I think I remember," Bella offered before turning her attention back to her father. "Are they always like this?"

"It's getting worse with old age," Jacob laughed.

Realizing they had an audience, Charlie moved out of the street and saddled up to the truck. "So, what do you think?" Charlie inquired, patting the rustic hood like a proud father.

"About?" Bella inquired when she realized Charlie had addressed the question at her.

"Your homecoming present," Charlie beamed.

"Oh. The truck is for me?"

Bella wasn't vehicle savvy on any means. Granted, she knew it was a Chevy based off the logo and figured it was from the 50s or 60s based off the design of the model, but that was it. The one thing that she was certain of, however, was that she was going to go deaf with how loud it sounded earlier when driving up.

"Yep! Just bought it off Billy, here," Charlie beamed.

"Oh, that was very nice of you." Unfortunately, Bella didn't have the heart to say anything negative to her father, especially with how proud he looked just now.

"It's a 1963 Chevy StepSide c-10," Jacob offered. "Don't worry though. I rebuilt the engine so it's better than new, and I know that it is a bit rough from the aesthetic perspective-"

"It's perfect," Bella smiled, resting a hand on Jacob's arm to silence the boy. Yes, she would probably hate the contraption, especially with how slow the older truck would probably be, but it was the thought that counted, and for that she was grateful.

"Wanna check it out?" Jacob inquired.

Although she would rather not, Bella agreed. The boy was too eager for his own good, and besides, she needed to learn at some point if she did not want the beastly device rusting in the driveway.

Climbing into the driver's seat, Bella watched as Jacob eagerly rushed to take over the passenger side.

"Okay, so, you gotta double pump the clutch when you shift, but besides that you should be good," Jacob explained while handing the key over.

"Is that this one?" Bella questioned with her left foot.

"Yeah. Yeah, right there."

As the truck roared to life after the third try, Billy nudged Charlie in the hip with his elbow. "Told you she'd love it," Billy bragged. "I'm down with the kids."

"Oh yeah, you're the bomb," Charlie chuckled, rolling his eyes as he watched Bella back the truck out of the driveway to take it for a test run.

On the way back from circling the block, Bella shifted in her seat. She had been contemplating asking Jake, as the boy informed her to call him by, a question since they drove off. She needed to make friends if she wanted to have a normal teenage life. So, why not start with someone who was genuinely being nice to her? After a few more minutes of debating, Bella finally bit the bullet.

"So, hey," Bella began, getting Jake's attention. "Do you wanna ride to school or something?"

Perking up at the offer, Jake quickly slouched in his seat. "Oh, I go to school on the reservation."

"Oh, right, right," Bella murmured. "That's too bad." She really did want to know at least one person beside her father.

"But, we can hang out afterwards," Jake offered.

"I'd like that."

* * *

 **A/N:** So, I was wanting a story to read earlier and nothing caught my interest. Instead, I had an idea bubbling in the back of my head of altering the original Twilight. I'll keep it on par to the story line, but I thought to turn Bella into a feline of sorts. I'm not certain I want her to have super powers, per say, such as that of the Quileute wolves or even werewolves. Perhaps just a cat girl. Who knows. I'll explore that avenue as the story develops. I'm just tired of the all out "badass" Bella coming onto stage from the beginning, walking over everything as if she's an untouchable goddess, and the story's a closed case from the first paragraph. As far as her "mate" goes, I was thinking of a Bella/Victoria pairing (since I have a Denali, Volturi, and Alice already in the works). However, because of how I have it plotted out, Victoria will not come into light until the very end of the story - just as a heads up.

Opinions, suggestions, comments (regarding gift or mate)?


	2. Chapter 2

**Ch. 2**

With a resigned sigh, Bella settled into the cab of _Ol' Red_. She had thought about calling it _Rust Bucket_ , _The Thing_ , or _Gramps_ , but she did not have the heart to make fun of her truck to that extent. Turning the key, Bella winced as _Ol' Red_ roared into life and headed towards school. She really would have to pick up a set of earplugs to drive this monstrosity.

After Jake and Billy left with her father, who took them home in the cruiser, Bella had taken the opportunity to give her truck another test drive. She had learned to drive when she turned sixteen, thanks to Renee. Unfortunately, she was rather rusty. After all, besides driving to pick up groceries on the rare occasion, Bella really did not have that much practice over the past year. If she was going to drive it to school, then she might as well begin now.

In a matter of moments, however, Bella quickly discovered two other things. Besides the fact that the truck was loud, it was rather easy to stall. Secondly, it attracted a lot of attention. Because of that, Bella decided to spend that last weekend of freedom practicing her driving skills.

By Sunday night, Bella had driven her truck up the numerous hills that Washington had to offer or found flat roads to practice shifting gears. And every time the truck slowed to a crawl, stalled, or both, Bella would once again question why she wasn't still in Phoenix. As for attracting attention, well, the only way Bella figured getting around that was running _Ol' Red_ off the road somewhere and letting nature stake its claim to the ancient beast.

Much to Bella's dismay, that wasn't an option, especially as she pulled into the school's parking lot that following morning.

As Bella rounded the speed bump and made it up the slight incline, _Ol' Red_ decided to emit a loud, almost belching noise out the tailpipe. Mortified, Bella pulled into the nearest parking space and quickly killed the engine. Resting her head on the rim of the steering wheel, Bella closed her eyes while silently wishing she could redo that morning.

Lost in her thoughts, Bella squeaked moments later as a loud knock rattled her driver's window. Jolted from her self-wallowing, Bella winced in pain.

Ignoring the sensation as she glanced at the source of the commotion, Bella couldn't help but blink in surprise. There, with his face almost pressed against the window, stood a gangly, Asian boy who was waving rather too energetically for it being so early in the morning.

Instead of opening the door and hitting the kid, Bella reached down and manually cranked the window down. "Yes?"

"You're Isabella Swan, the new girl," the boy began. For being so aware of who she was, he was rather oblivious to the grimace on Bella's face.

"Bella," the brunette corrected while refraining from covering her ears to protect them from the high pitch in the kid's voice.

"Hi! I'm Eric, the eyes and ears of this place," Eric explained. "Anything you need, just hit me up. Tour guide, lunch date," Eric explained, ticking the list of suggestions off on his fingers, "shoulder to cry on-"

Blinking as the boy rambled on, Bella finally interrupted Eric as she realized it would be the only way to gain a peace of mind. "Sorry, but I'm kind of the suffer-in-silence type."

"Oh! That's a good headline for your feature!"

"Headline?" Bella nearly squeaked, suddenly distracted from the boy's voice.

"Yeah, I'm on the paper," Eric beamed. "And you're news, baby. Front page."

Registering what the boy had just said, Bella suddenly blanched.

"I-no, I'm not." Bella stammered in a growing bout of hysteria. She did not need to be attracting even more attention. Sure, she had the first day jitters and her truck sounded like it had gastric bypass issues, but that wasn't it. If Eric pushed on the paper, and if people started to take an interest in her, she could kiss her normal teenage experience goodbye. "I-please don't. I'm, seriously, not at all…Please-"

"Whoa, chillax." Stepping back a pace as he finally noticed the girl's frantic expression, Eric held his palms out at Bella, as if that would keep her from exploding. "No feature," Eric quickly reassured.

"Promise?"

"Yeah."

"Cool." Slouching into her seat, Bella rubbed at her temple while discretely lowering her hat. "Thanks," Bella added as an afterthought.

Figuring the scene was now safe, Eric moved back to the window. "You okay?" Eric inquired.

"Yeah. Just, first day jitters, you know" Bella lied. "Could you give me a few?"

"You sure? I don't mind showing you around," Eric offered. Even if he didn't get an article about the new girl, he'd still be the latest rage for the day. He was already the first to talk to the new student, now if he could just ensnare her into hanging out. She was cute when she wasn't freaking out.

"I'm positive. Thank you. I'm going to just relax for a moment," Bella replied. "I'll see you inside." Without waiting for a response, Bella rolled the window back up. She didn't mean to be rude, but she couldn't get out of the car just yet.

Waiting for Eric to walk off, Bella rested her head back down on the steering wheel. This was a bad idea. She nearly got caught at her old school, where over 700 students, in her junior year alone, practically ignored her. How did she expect to go unnoticed here? It was a vastly smaller school, with barely 350 bodies creating the entire student population. To top it off, she was fresh meat; fresh meat that almost made the front page.

Closing her eyes, Bella focused on her breathing rather than the people milling about outside.

It was no time to worry about the others, what she did need to worry about was the tail that she was painfully sitting on and the ears that threatened to push the ball cap off the top of her head. Despite putting her hair up in a ponytail to anchor it down, in her alarm, a set of rather large feline ears had nearly sprung free.

Counting to ten, Bella concentrated on making the ears and tail disappear. She had thankfully opted for loose cargo pants for the day. Unlike tight jeans, the baggier material would hide her tail if it happened to appear during class. Unfortunately, there was no way she would be able to get away with the hat. Even with it on, her ears would still be rather obvious if they were to appear. Thankfully, Bella had been in the truck at the time so the shadowing and the angle of the cab door blocked Eric's view.

As her ears transformed from a pair of furry, chestnut points into the soft, pale lobes that humans were normally associated with, Bella reached up with both hands. Checking to make sure they were _normal_ , Bella then removed her hat with one hand and the elastic band holding her hair with the other. With a quick shake of her head, Bella allowed for gravity to take over as her long, chestnut locks tumbled down to settle around the middle of her back.

Double checking her appearance in the rearview mirror, Bella let out another sigh.

She was the new girl from the big city. She was a curiosity to this town, a town where the grandparents knew one another since their diaper days. And to top it off, she was a freak. Maybe if she looked like a girl who had actually resided in Phoenix, then it wouldn't be so bad; she could play off that. Unfortunately, she had burgundy hair, not blonde; brown eyes, not blue; and ivory skin, not a sun-kissed tan one typically expected from a girl who lived in the valley of the sun.

Although she had good traits as well, Bella knew that she would have to refrain from exposing them; it would simply draw too much attention if people found out. Just like at her last school, Bella knew that she would have to hide the fact that she had a grace and poise unique to most humans, and that beneath her baggy exterior, she was rather athletic in appearance and function. With a sigh, Bella fixed the mirror back in place and grabbed her bag. She would have to become the school's klutz all over again.

As she slid out of the truck, however, that plan went right out the window. In her distracted state of mind and her haste to shut off _Ol' Red_ , Bella hadn't realized where she had parked. Unfortunately, as she stepped out of the truck, Bella became very aware of the puddle residing beneath her driver's door. Without a moment's hesitation, Bella dodged almost daintily over the water. Landing a few feet away from her truck and the harm of getting her shoes wet, it took another moment before the realization kicked in.

Not even twenty seconds out of the vehicle and she was already drawing attention to herself; not only with her odd behavior towards getting her shoes wet, but to her uncanny, agile abilities.

Sure enough, when Bella glanced up, multiple pairs of eyes were watching her from various spots in the parking lot.

Biting the inside of her cheek, Bella refrained from cursing herself out loud. So much for being known as a klutz. If she wasn't careful, people would grow suspicious of her, just like they had in Phoenix. On the positive side, if they remained oblivious, Bella would then have to bat them off in trying to coax her to join their sport teams.

Unfortunately, there was nothing she could do at the current moment but to try harder to control herself, water or no. With a sigh, Bella closed the driver's door and headed towards the school's double doors.

 _It's stunts like that that will get you in trouble, Bella._ Mentally berating herself, Bella stuffed a pair of ear buds into their respective ear. Once satisfied that they weren't going to fall out, Bella fiddled with the phone inside her jacket pocket and blindly guided her fingers to unlock the screen.

As the music snaked its way out of the wires and into her skull, Bella skittered yet another puddle and dodged around the swarm of students that continued to stare at her. As the more daring of the bunch tried to greet her, Bella used her music to drown out the people around her. Subconsciously, Bella realized that she wasn't making a very good first impression, but she couldn't help herself. It was wet outside and she was now cold and miserable.

Sadly, it was only the middle of March.

 _Why do I have such a glutton for punishment?_ Bella grumbled as the skies opened up and the drizzle returned before she made it to the doors. Of all the places she could have moved to, she had to pick one of the wettest areas on Earth. Pulling the hood of her black jacket up over her head, Bella picked up her pace and blended into the crowd.

As Bella stepped into the building, she breathed a sigh of relief. Having the foresight to swing by the week before while the school was empty, Bella was able to bypass the registrar office. Not only did it save her time, but she had also taken the opportunity to scout out her classrooms while there.

Unable to resist glancing through the windows as she passed the door to the registrar, Bella looked into the small office. Beneath the fluorescent lighting, Bella easily picked out the padded folding chairs, the orange-flecked commercial carpet, and the notices and awards that cluttered the wall. Bella was glad she didn't have to sit in the waiting area that morning. The big clock hanging over the reception's desk had been rather loud the last time she was in there.

Even in the hall, with the door shut, she could hear it ticking along. On top of that, the place smelt weird.

The numerous plants that littered the office held an odd musk; which didn't help the claustrophobic sensation Bella experienced. Between the cluster of bright colored flyers that were scattered about the office and the clutter of wire baskets, each mounded with reams of paper, Bella wasn't sure which was worse. Along with the decorations in the scant space, Bella had also been slightly off put by the woman who manned the front desk. What was her name again?

As hard as she tried, Bella couldn't remember. All that she could recall was the purple t-shirt that had appeared out of place for an office setting, the same shirt that had clashed horribly with the woman's bright red hair. Perhaps it was because school was in limbo, but Bella had felt rather overdressed in the woman's presence, and that was saying something.

Continuing past the office, Bella turned her attention back to her schedule as she pulled it out of her pocket. At least the woman had been kind enough to go over her classes and the best route to each one.

 _Let's see. First stop, English with Mr. Mason._

Figuring her way around the campus was fairly simple, which thankfully helped to counter the butterflies that were currently residing within her abdomen. As she spotted the large black _3_ on the side of a particular building, Bella angled her way over and followed behind two other students. As they removed their coats, Bella realized that both of her peers were female, and to top it off, they both had a similar pale hue to their skin.

 _Perhaps it won't be so bad here after all,_ Bella hoped as she mimicked their actions and hung her coat up on one of the numerous hooks.

Glancing around the small classroom, Bella quickly spotted the teacher. Remembering that she had been directed to get a signature from each of her professors, Bella moved over the desk.

"Excuse me," Bella whispered, not wanting to disturb the tall, balding man. As Mr. Mason glanced up from the stack of papers in front of him, Bella held out the slip. "I just need to get this signed, since I'm new."

Bella wasn't certain why the instructor sat there gawking at her, but she was rather relieved when he dismissed her without making her introduce herself to the class. Resisting the urge to give herself a pat down, Bella waited patiently for the professor to return the slip and fetch her a list of their current readings. Unfortunately, it allotted the students ample amount of time to study Bella.

Grabbing the papers, Bella quickly made her way to the empty desk, ignoring the fact that each and every student had turned to watch her as she walked past them. On the upside, the location of the desk forced many of the students to turn around after a few moments. As for those who continued to stare, Bella simply plucked a book from her bag and used it to ignore her peers until the class began.

Having covered the material at her previous school, Bella simply skimmed over the assignments, and realizing that she still had a majority of the work saved on her computer, put the list away. Thankfully, the class passed fairly smoothly after that and before Bella knew it, the bell rang. Released, Bella grabbed her bag, and with a quick check of the map, headed to her next class.

The rest of the morning passed in a similar blur with first Trigonometry and then Spanish. In each, she gave the teacher the slip to sign, waited for her books, then she found a seat to call her own. Once settled, she spent the remainder of the class trying to block out those around her. For the most part it worked, but by the third class period, Bella was beginning to recognize many of the faces from her previous two periods. One in particular was a quiet girl by the name Angela. She was tiny; several inches shorter than Bella's five feet, four inches, but her wildly, curly, dark hair made up for a majority of the height difference. On top of that, Bella actually didn't mind when the girl prattled on about the various teachers and classes. She was the first to treat her like a normal peer, not some new specimen.

Try as she might, however, Bella couldn't get away from the continuous swarm of her other peers.

Curious about the mysterious girl that hardly spoke, the bravest of the lot would introduce themselves and ask questions. Typically they ranged over the same few topics: How did she like Forks? Was it very different from Phoenix? How was she liking the rain? And her personal favorite: Why did she move here, of all places?

Remembering that she had moved here to start anew and be a normal teenager, Bella smiled and answered each question as diplomatically as possible. Regretfully, Bella quickly learned, however, that if she gave an inch with her answers, they would take a mile into prying with more invasive questions.

By the time gym rolled around, Bella wanted to ditch the class and hide somewhere quiet, like the library. Unfortunately, Bella knew the routine.

Slipping into the locker room, Bella quickly found the coach and after getting her assigned locker, disappeared into a bathroom stall to change. It wasn't that she was embarrassed about her figure, but followed the notion of: less questions asked, the less answers she had to give. The first step to her madness was to make sure no one realized she was rather fit for her age. That meant changing in secrecy.

Slipping into a baggy pair of sweats and an oversized t-shirt, Bella put her sneakers back on and made her way into the gym. When she stepped onto the court, Bella sighed. Volleyball, great. She was rather good at the sport. Sadly, she knew that she would have to down play herself during this class.

As the girls were split into teams, Bella watched as the gym was divided as well. Along with half a court full of girls, the other half was occupied with boys' basketball team. Returning her focus on the game at hand, Bella put her all in avoiding the volleyball like it was a radioactive time bomb waiting to explode.

"Block it, Chloe! Yeah! Good attack!" the team captain cheered.

Having grown distracted by watching the boys run drills, Bella realized at the last minute that the volleyball had been directed back towards her instead of over the net.

Without much time to react, Bella simply smacked the ball away from her face. Altering the projectile object, Bella watched in horror as the force of her open palm caused the ball to fly off the court only to bean one of the basketball players in the back of the head.

"Ow!"

Wincing as she watched a blond, spiky haired boy turnabout while rubbing his head, Bella quickly hurried over.

"I'm so sorry!" Bella apologized, rather embarrassed. "Are you alright? I warned them not to put me in."

"It's only a flesh wound." Dropping his hand, the blonde boy grinned in recognition. "Hey, you're Isabella, right?"

Smiling in relief at not being yelled at, Bella decided to reply. "Just Bella," she corrected for the umpteenth time that day.

"I'm Mike. Mike Newton."

Before Bella could reply, the team captain suddenly appeared at her side. Moving to step closer to Mike, the energetic and athletic girl subtly, but rather possessively nudged Mike. "She's got a great spike, doesn't she?" the girl interrupted.

Bella got the hint rather clearly. Granted, she could admit that the kid wasn't bad looking, and was rather affable, but he definitely wasn't her type.

"Um," Mike began, taken off guard. "I guess, Jess."

Turning her attention to Bella, Jessica quickly bombarded Bella with the next question. "So, you're from Arizona, right? Aren't people supposed to be, like, tan down there?"

Blinking momentarily at the obvious jib, Bella merely shrugged. If that's how it was to be, Bella could play. "That's why they kicked me out."

As the crickets chirped once, twice, three times, Bella realized that clouds and humor did not mix well. About to sigh, Bella felt the corner of her lips quirk slightly as Mike laughed, quickly followed by a forced chuckle from Jessica.

"That's so funny."

"Anyways, sorry again about your head," Bella said to Mike, ignoring Jessica for the moment. "I should go get changed. Lunch, and all." As she spoke, Bella slowly began to back away from the pair.

"Wait!" Mike called, stepping forward to close the distance once again. "Why don't you join us for lunch?"

Taking in the glare from Jessica, Bella bit her bottom lip as she debated. Quickly, she decided against the invitation, friends be damned. "Sorry, I can't," Bella began, only to stop as she saw the rejected expression on Mike's face. Bella felt like she had just kicked his puppy and tossed him to the curb. Sighing, Bella came up with a better excuse, "I already promised I would sit with this chick, Angela."

"Oh! Weber? She's part of our group!" Mike suddenly beamed. "See you at lunch!"

Rubbing her temple, Bella followed a silently fuming Jessica back to the locker rooms for her apparent lunch date. Hopefully Angela wouldn't mind that Bella invited herself.


	3. Chapter 3

**Ch. 3**

Unable to get out of the lunch date, Bella sullenly followed Mike and Jessica to their table.

As they approached, Bella noticed that Angela was indeed a part of the group, and to her slight dismay, so was Eric.

"It'll be like a masterpiece, you know?" Bella overheard Eric speak as she took a seat at the table. Thanking Mike for pulling out her chair, Bella missed part of the conversation taking place.

"-we'll have this crazy pyramid fall from the sky and-"

"Burrito, my friend?" Mike interrupted as he offered Eric the food in question.

"-then you guys can- Hey!" Eric greeted once realizing that Bella had joined them. "Mikey, you met my home girl, Bella!"

"O-oh, your home girl?" Mike inquired. Having taken a seat on Bella's opposite side, Mike rested his elbows on the table and leaned forward in his seat to look around Bella.

"Yeah!" Eric repeated, moving closer to Bella to stake his claim. Before he could completely slide his arm around Bella's shoulders, the Asian was interrupted as another lad randomly appeared.

"That's-"

Glancing to her right as the new voice spoke beside her elbow, Bella blinked in surprise as she watched as Mike suddenly landed on the floor, his chair no longer there.

"-my girl."

And like that, the boy was gone with the chair in hand.

"And…that's Tyler," Eric sighed as he watched Mike scramble off the floor to chase the said boy across the room.

"Sorry! I had to mess up your game, Mike!" Bella could hear Tyler call out before the pair disappeared from sight.

As laughter echoed around the cafeteria, Bella returned her focus to the plate before her. Perhaps if she just ate her lunch, she could escape from the madhouse. Unfortunately for Bella, Jessica had other ideas in mind.

Sliding her chair closer to Bella's, Jessica giggled a bit at the situation. "It's like, first grade all over again," Jessica began. "And you're the shiny new toy."

Smiling awkwardly at the statement, Bella was saved from having to reply as a bright flash suddenly blinded her.

"Sorry about that," Angela apologized as she lowered her camera. "I needed a candid shot for the feature," Angela began to explain, only to be cut off by Eric.

"Feature's dead, Angela." Eric snipped. "Don't bring it up again."

Frowning at Eric's manners, or lack of, Bella nearly missed Eric's last remark about having her back.

"Sorry," Angela muttered again. "I guess we'll just run another editorial on teen drinking."

Feeling bad about ruining Angela's paper after she had been nothing but nice to her, Bella offered an apology of her own. "I'm sorry, I just don't like to be publicized. You can always do a snippet about eating disorders. Or, you could do one about Speedo padding on the swim team," Bella tried again when the first suggestion didn't bite.

"Wait, that's a good one." Perking at the helpful suggestions, Angela smiled at Bella grateful for the tips.

"Kirk. Right? That's exactly what I thought," Jessica quickly agreed with her shy friend.

"We're talking Olympic size," Angela joked, suddenly excited about the prospective new article.

After that, the conversation quickly fell on deaf ears as Bella's attention was drawn to the windows. Having caught a flicker of movement outside, Bella's sharp eyesight quickly latched onto the door right before it opened. As five vastly different people entered the cafeteria with such fluid grace, Bella couldn't help but stare as she finally laid sight to the object in question. Her curiosity ensnared, Bella leaned over to Jessica and interrupted their conversation about the over compensation.

"Hey, Jessica. Who are they?" Bella inquired.

Glancing up, Jessica's annoyance quickly turned to a smug expression as she took note of the topic of interest. "The Cullens," Jessica supplied. Always eager to gossip, especially about the group, Jessica slid a bit closer to Bella as the five moved past their table and toward the lunch line. "Those are Doctor and Mrs. Cullen's foster kids. They all moved down here from Alaska, like two years ago."

"They kind of keep to themselves," Angela added, trying to keep her friend in check.

Oblivious to the hint, Jessica leaned in even closer. "Yeah, because they're all together," Jessica confided in Bella, her voice laced with shock and condemnation.

Bella simply blinked.

At the lack of reaction to her comment, Jessica continued, "like, together together."

Bella blinked once more before turning to look at the group.

Huffing, Jessica simply continued with her gossip. "The blonde girl, that's Rosalie, and the big dark-haired guy is Emmett. They're like a thing. I'm not even sure that's legal," Jess added.

"Jess, they're not even related," Angela reminded her.

"Yeah, but they live together," Jessica muttered. "It's weird."

Ignoring Jessica's attempt to get a rise out of her, Bella studied the pair as they carried their trays to a table on the other side of the room. Rosalie was statuesque. She had a beautiful figure, the kind you saw on the corner of the Sports Illustrated swimsuit issue; the kind that made every girl around her take a hit on her self-esteem just by being in the same room. Her hair was golden, gently waving to the middle of her back. As for Emmett, Rosalie couldn't have found a better match if she tried. Countering her tall frame, Emmett towered over her, his muscular body and dark curly hair was offset, however, by the boyish smile that graced his chiseled features.

Ignoring her friend as well, Angela turned to Bella. "They're all adopted. Rosalie and Jasper are twins. Their last name is actually Hale."

"They look a bit old to be foster children," Bella remarked offhandedly.

"They are now," Angela admitted. "Jasper and Rosalie are both eighteen, but they've lived with Mrs. Cullen since they were eight. I believe she's their aunt."

"That's really nice of them," Bella commented.

Bella understood what it felt like to be in that predicament, having been raised as a foster kids of sorts. Before she was even two, her mother had upped and moved her to Arizona with no forewarning to Charlie or herself. It wasn't until a handful of years later that Bella was able to fully understand.

At the time, all Bella knew was the move had something to do with her sprouting a pair of furry ears and a long spotted tail. Honestly, the change was not too had moved in with her mom's cousin, aunt Renee, and over the next couple of years Bella was encouraged to keep in touch with her father, especially during the holidays. Then, one day after her tenth birthday, the correspondence stopped. That was when she had first changed. Shortly after that, her mother disappeared, leaving her in the care of her aunt Renee.

In Bella's opinion, the living situation spoke volumes of the Cullens' character.

"I guess so," Jessica finally gave up after the bout of prolonged silence. Reluctantly, Jessica dropped the matter when she realized she wasn't going to get a reaction from either Angela or Bella. Instead, she pointed out the next couple. "The little dark-haired girl's Alice. She's really weird and she's with, um, Jasper, the blonde one who looks like he's in pain."

Once again, ignoring Jessica's side commentary, Bella studied the other two as they made their way to the table as her attention was drawn back into the conversation. Completely opposite of Rosalie, Bella took in Alice's pixie-like figure. Thin, almost to the point of extreme, and graced with small features, Bella couldn't help but smile as she watched the girl twirl about to latch onto Jasper's arm. The impish smile that appeared almost complimented the rather short cropped, ebony locks that were fashioned to point in every direction but down.

Turning her attention to Jasper, Bella took note of his lanky, yet muscular frame and honey blonde hair.

As she continued to study the way the boy moved, Bella realized why Jessica thought the boy was in pain; he moved with stiff, rigid, and almost overly controlled steps. The stark contrast to Alice's lithe dancer movements made Bella wonder for a moment how two individuals, who were such clear polar opposites, had attracted.

"Which ones are the Cullens then?" Bella inquired suddenly.

"Basically the brunettes," Angela answered.

"They don't look alike," Bella mused more so to herself, which made sense if they were adopted. And yet, they did. For as different as each one was, Bella was able to pick up the subtle similarities. With her sharp eyesight, Bella noted that each and every one of them were chalky pale; even paler than herself, the southern albino. Similarly, they each had the same dark amber irises, which was odd considering the unique color. Continuing to discretely study them, Bella also took in the dark shadowing beneath their eyes; at first glance Bella wondered if they all suffered from insomnia.

"Oh, they're not," Jessica brushed off, as if Bella had requested her take on the matter. "Dr. Cullen is really young, in his twenties or early thirties. He's like this foster dad/matchmaker," Jessica gushed, turning rather giddy and bashful.

"Maybe he'll adopt me," Angela teased, clasping her hands together as she grinned.

Noticing the change in both girls' tones, Bella turned her attention back to her own table. About to tease Angela, Bella got her first good look at the final member of the group.

Lankier than the previous two males, Bella studied the untidy mass of bronze-colored hair that topped the boyish features. "Who's he?" Bella inquired once realizing that he was the source of her peers' sudden bout of giddiness.

"That," Jessica grinned, almost breathless, "is Edward Cullen. He's totally gorgeous, obviously, but apparently nobody here is good enough for him."

Turning her attention to study the last of the Cullen's, Bella noticed that the boy in question had a faint quirk to his lips as he moved by himself to the table. If Bella did not know better, she would have assumed he had heard Jessica with the timing.

"Like I care, you know," Jessica finished as Angela contained her mirth. "So, yeah. Anyways, don't waste your time," Jessica warned as Bella glanced at their table once again.

At that moment, Bella's eyes happened to catch and hold Edward's attention long enough to cause the boy to frown, almost as if in confusion.

"I wasn't planning on it," Bella reassured. Despite the fact that each one was devastatingly, inhumanly, beautiful, Bella was not attracted to any of them. Deciding that she was no longer hungry, Bella excused herself.

Rising to her feet, Bella took another glance at the mysterious group as she threw away her trash. Not expecting the group to be silently watching her, Bella balked for a split second. With her hand hovering over the trash can, Bella noticed that none of them were talking; none of them were eating, their food simply sat untouched as they studied her in return. Breaking eye contact first, Bella left the cafeteria in a bout of confusion.

As she wandered the halls to her next period, Bella couldn't help but wonder why Edward's previous frown had turned into one of almost complete frustration. The scowl that graced his features had rather unnerved her, and that was saying alot since she was the greatest threat in the room. As for Alice, the girl almost looked confused and lost, as if something was wrong.

Before she could give the situation much more though, the hairs on the back of her neck rose. Realizing someone was about to touch her, Bella slide to the side just in time. Avoiding the arm that had almost landed upon her shoulder, Bella dropped into a crouch.

"Whoa, hey, it's me," Mike quickly announced. Swearing that he heard a faint growl, he raised his hands up where Bella could see them.

Feeling a blush escape at her behavior, Bella rose back to her full height. "Sorry," Bella muttered. Clearing her throat, Bella continued her way towards Biology, hoping that if she acted like nothing happened, Mike would just drop it.

"No, it's okay. I didn't mean to scare you," Mike apologized in return.

"You didn't," Bella replied, slightly bristled at the notion. Realizing that she should give some sort of explanation before she made the situation even more awkward, Bella spoke again. "I'm just not fond of being touched."

It wasn't a complete lie. She actually loved to be petted and cuddled, but she wasn't about to allow a stranger touch her, and more so, she didn't need anyone at school knowing that quirk about her.

"It's cool," Mike replied as he followed Bella into the classroom. In hopes of moving past the awkward moment as well, Mike pointed out the professor. "That's Mr. Molina."

"Thanks."

As she moved towards the birkenstock, enthusiastic, science teacher sitting at the head of the class, Bella allowed her eyes to roam over the various decorations. She was not an expert at Science, but after sporadically turning into a cat one day, and a rather large one at that, Bella took an interest in the subject.

Roaming her eyes from the various jars to plastic models, Bella's eyes fell on one of the Cullens. Even with his back turned, Bella could tell it was Edward by the rumpled russet locks of hair. Brows furrowing in curiosity, Bella studied the tense lines in the boy's shoulders.

When a voice cleared beside her, Bella turned her head just as Edward grabbed hold of the edge of the table, missing both the deep inhale and the slight crumpling of the desk's plaster beneath his grip.

"Welcome, Ms. Swan," Mr. Molina greeted while handing over a textbook and assignment sheet. "Follow along as best as you can until you get caught up."

Dismissed, Bella went to find a seat. Much to her dismay, the class had filled up while she was distracted and the only seat left was next to Edward. _Well, at least he won't ask me questions like the rest of the population,_ Bella reasoned due to the boy's body language. With that hope in mind, Bella approached her seat.

At the sound of her footsteps, however, Edward raised his head, allowing ebony hues to lock with soft chocolate.

Startled, Bella took a step back, causing her bag to knock into another's and slip to the floor. Turning around to pick it back up, Bella muttered a soft apology as her mind replayed the look of complete repulsion and fury she had just witnessed on Edward's face. Wondering if she had simply imagined everything, Bella turned back around to take her seat. Instead of confirming her suspicions, Bella was met with Edward's back once again.

Baffled, Bella slid a bit reluctantly into her seat. If looks could literally kill, Bella would have sworn she would be dead. Dismissing the idea as Mr. Molina moved to the blackboard, Bella opened up her textbook as the professor's animated voice filled the air.

"Today we'll be observing the behavior of _planaria_ , also known as flatworms." With that announcement made, Mr. Molina made his way about the classroom, distributing two petri dishes per table.

 _Great,_ Bella sighed as she rested her cheek on an open palm. Of course it would be worms. She repressed the shudder that trailed down her spine. If her aunt could see her now, Renee would surely make fun of her about being _the big, bad kitty cat, who was scared of little worms_. Bella could not help being disgusted. Flatworms were gross, simply put.

"We're going to cut them in half, then watch them regenerate into two separate worms," Mr. Molina explained as he moved closer to the other side of the room to finish handing out the samples.

Glancing at Edward, Bella quirked an eyebrow as she noticed the boy was holding a hand over his nose and mouth. Wondering if he was just as disgusted by the idea or if she smelt bad, Bella subtly sniffed at the air, then herself.

Perplexed, Bella ignored Edward until Mr. Molina handed their petri dishes to the boy, who in turn slid it across the table to her as if she had Ebola.

Suspicions confirmed, Bella grabbed her dish and returned her attention to the instructor.

"Yes, folks, zombie worms!" The instructor concluded as the class began to dissect the worm only to watch as the separate halves continues to squirm about. "They just won't die."

 _Ha._ _Everything dies,_ Bella mused. _It just depends on how they return to the land of the living._ With that thought in mind, Bella set to work, trying not to gag as she played Frankenstein with her worms.

By the time the bell rang, Bella had moved past the point of being perplexed to simply offended. Throughout the entire class period, Edward had sat on the far edge of his seat, ignoring her. To top it off, he had even opened the window near him and left it open in his haste as he practically bolted out of the door the second the class was dismissed.

 _Well, at least I got my wish,_ Bella sighed. Glancing down the hall, the boy was nowhere in sight. Mike and Eric, however, were. Deciding to backtrack and go the other way, Bella made her way slowly to the registrar office to turn in her slip. Because of how her classes transferred, Bella was able to opt for a study period, meaning she was able to leave campus early.

About to open the office door, Bella paused for a moment as her ears caught the sound of Edward sweet-talking the administrator. _Couldn't be_. Baffled, Bella moved to the side to peek through a window. Sure enough, Edward was leaning over the counter putting the charm on the same woman who had helped her with her schedule the previous week. Faintly disturbed, Bella opened the door to break up the flirtatious banter between the seventeen year old, pubescent boy and the forty year old administrator.

That was before she actually registered what was being discussed.

"Certainly there must be something open fifth period," Edward pushed. "Physics? Biochem?"

"I'm sorry, every class is full." The lady did indeed sound apologetic. "I'm afraid you'll have to stay in biology."

Realizing the awkward situation she had stumbled on, Bella debated for a moment about slipping back out of the room before she was noticed. Afterall, she could return the slip in the morning. That thought went out the window, however, as Edward suddenly stiffened, as if sensing the source of the issue was in the room.

Watching as Edward turned around slowly, Bella unconsciously took a step back as onyx hues narrowed in a piercing, hate-filled glare.

"I'll just…endure it," Edward declared in a huff before storming out of the room.

Watching Edward's retreating form, Bella could not help but wonder if he was having a tantrum because of her. Did she really offend him that much by being in his class? Pushing the thought aside as a voice was cleared behind her, Bella quickly handed in the slip and took her leave.

Wandering slowly through the building, Bella was lost in thought as she mentally replayed the past couple of hours. No matter how she analyzed the situation, Bella continued to draw a blank on what she had done. From the lunchroom to the end of Biology class, the boy had been the one to show an array of contempt and frustration when he looked at her. Maybe she could ask for her classes to be swapped. She already met her science requirements, this Biology class was just for fun.

Giving up as she reached her truck, Bella finally snapped back to the present moment. It was then that a slight chill rippled its way between her shoulder blades. Feeling like she was being watched, Bella glanced over her shoulder and scanned the parking lot. In a matter of seconds, Bella's eyes landed on a bright and shiny, silver Volvo. It was not the car that caught her attention, however, but the boy leaning against it, watching her.

Scowling in return, Bella yanked the driver's door open and climbed inside the cab. Starting the truck, the loud rumble echoed across lot; distracted by her bout of frustration, Bella did not even wince. Jerking the truck into gear, Bella headed for home, her earlier decision forgotten. If Edward had that big of an issue with her, then he could just deal.


	4. Chapter 4

**Ch. 4**

" _Counting all the assholes in the room…well I'm definitely not alone… well I'm not alone_." Singing along with the lyrics, Bella sped down the curvy road, no longer aware of where she was.

Originally when Bella left the school, she had planned on going straight home. Unfortunately, that didn't pan out as she had expected. Unable to relax, Bella opted to go for a drive along the backroads. Instead of pulling her out of a funk, however, the drab scenery simply gave her more time to brood.

" _You're a liar, you're a cheater, you're a fool…Well that's just like me yoohoo, and I know you too_."

She was not sure why it bothered her so much that a single lad, one she knew nothing about, had gotten so far under her skin. But he had and it did.

" _Mr. Perfect don't exist my little friend. And I'll tell you it again, and I do it again. Counting all the assholes in the room…well I'm definitely not alone, well I'm not alone_."

As the drums kicked in, Bella began rapping her fingers, and then both palms, against the steering wheel while her eyes continued to scan the surrounding area. She needed to run, but she did not want to draw attention from any of her father's neighbors. In order to avoid the awkward conversation that would surely follow, Bella decided to utilize Washington's abundance of isolated and uninhabited woods.

" _Look deep into yourself before you blame all others, for betrayal, for betrayal. I promise, so easy to say, and easy you failed. And you do it-_ Ah!" Having spotted a rather unused road a little ways up ahead, a pair of furry ears perked up in excitement. Slowing down, Bella pulled off to the side and eased Ol' Red onto the unmarked path.

Driving slowly through the underbrush, Bella made her way deeper into the tree line until coming to a stop before a decent sized clearing. Rationalizing she was far enough away from the road, Bella killed the ignition and hopped out of the truck. With a quick glance around to confirm her mental calculations, Bella felt a bit of her previous tension slip from her shoulders when she was no longer able to spot the road, even with her enhanced eyesight.

With her trail hidden from prying eyes, Bella quickly disrobed in the light drizzle.

 _I'll have to remember to pack an extra change of clothes for future outings,_ Bella mused while folding the clothes.

Placing them in a neat pile upon the driver's seat, Bella closed the door and took a few steps towards the clearing.

Once a safe distance from the truck, Bella closed her eyes and allowed her head to drop backwards, causing her face to angle towards the limbs dangling above. Inhaling deeply, Bella closed off her mind to her prior thoughts and filled her senses with the surrounding area. Picking up the sound and smell of animals, but no humans, Bella allowed her guard to drop completely for the first time in over three weeks.

Feeling the customary rush travel throughout each neuron in her body, Bella's tail flickered back and forth as she curled her bare toes into the moss beneath. In a matter of seconds, where a human once stood towered a large feline.

At first glance, one might mistake Bella for an overgrown snow leopard with an odd coloring for the fur. However, upon closer inspection, the viewer would quickly notice various differences. Besides the _felidae_ hybrid's obvious size difference, the spotted patterns closely resembled that of a jaguar, while in turn, the tufts at the tips of Bella's ears looked as if she had inherited them from a lynx. Similarly, the fur color belonged to neither a true _pantherinae_ nor a _felinae_. Instead, Bella consisted of a rich russet color along her head, neck, back, and tail, which faded into a white undercoat that traveled down to cover her entire underside from her throat to the tip of her tail. In turn, the long spotted tail, which curled about a stout hind leg, appeared to be a mix of the two subfamilies; long and slender, yet generously covered in thick fur.

Stretching beneath the falling dew drops, sharp claws protracted to dig into the soil. Slicing through the moss with ease, Bella's body shook a final time before she glanced around once more. Where once chocolate brown orbs resided, electric green hues gazed slowly about. Getting her bearings, and the scent of a fresh trail, strong limbs carried the feline away from the truck and deeper into the woods.

Delighted to be in her full form after so long, Bella took her time stocking down her prey. The trails were fresh and plentiful, unlike in Arizona. There she had to hunt mostly at night; six times more light-sensitive than a human's, the southern sunlight had nearly blinded her the first time she had tried to run during the day. Although she had learned to cope with her heightened senses over the years, to the point of being able to adjust her eyes, ears, and even her nose, to utilize them while in her full human form, she still had to error on the side of caution. In turn, the open planes in the dessert also left her a bit more exposed than she felt comfortable with.

After years of hiding who, and more so what, she was, however, Bella finally threw caution to the wind. Picking up her pace, Bella's lithe frame curved about the tall pines, ducked under fallen trunks, and leapt over moss covered boulders. To have the freedom of the trees, where her fur blended with the bark surrounding her, was a true marvel; a marvel that Bella took full advantage of.

Exhausting herself of the previous frustration, Bella eventually slowed her gait down. Allowing for her wide paws to silently glide over the broken twigs and soft moss, Bella moved slowly, finally taking in her surroundings as her stomach began to rumble in demand. Uninterested in the smaller game, Bella took her time as she finally began to search for a trail worth chasing.

Bypassing a small, trickling stream, Bella paused to shake her damp fur, ridding the outer coat of the rain drops that clung to her in desperation. Moving on, Bella crested the hill top on the other side. It was then that the large feline caught hold of a tantalizing whiff. Curious, Bella slipped quietly through the trees, tracking the scent. As she came to a clearing, Bella spotted a lone deer a handful of yards away.

Slinking back into the shadows of the trees, Bella maneuvered about to get upwind of the dear before crouching into the brush to watch, wait, and listen. As the seconds roll into minutes, Bella remained frozen in the shadows, green eyes glistening as they remain unblinking in the falling rain. Ready at last, Bella shifted to pounce. Instead of emerging from the underbrush, however, Bella allowed a low rumble to echo throughout her chest and into the cold air.

Bella had decided at the last minute that she wanted a chase rather than a simple kill.

Alarmed, the deer bolted from the clearing with Bella right on its tail.

* * *

Ragged, frightened breathing could be heard over the loud clank of the metal walk away as a set of work boots pounded away in a frantic tempo. With sweat dripping haphazardly into a set of dilated pupils, labored breaths escaped into the crisp, afternoon air. Across one landing, over the side rail, and down another flight of stairs, a man bolted through the abandoned Grisham Mill.

He had given up trying not to make a sound long ago. Hiding in the shadows and dark corners had done him no good. Now, it was time to run. And run he did as dark silhouettes moved blindingly fast past him.

First on the left, then on the right. No matter which way he went, no matter how fast he pushed his straining muscles, they were always a step ahead.

He tried not to jerk about to see what was after him, but his instincts would not listen. Instead of seeing a wild animal, he would merely catch glimpses of red irises or flashes of a feral grin. The mysterious bodies rapidly became distorted as his mind transformed the shadows into monstrosities; beings of horror that pursued him at inhuman speed through the maze of pillars and walkways.

Down another flight of stairs and through an overly exposed corridor, the security guard continued to run. He could hear them, almost as if they were taunting him, as they leapt from one floor to the next, up ladders, across the scaffoldings, and over skull-crushing beams. Even as they grew closer, the man pushed on.

Desperate for his life, the man shoved his way through an exit door. Not even the harsh exterior lighting, which momentarily blinded the security guard, brought reason to pause. They were too close.

Stumbling over the rough gravel, the man moved as fast as his human limbs would allow, but it wasn't fast enough. He could hear them, feel them breathing down the back of his neck. However, when he turned to glance over his shoulder, nothing was there.

Distracted, the security guard quickly lost his footing and tripped. Breaking through the railing, the man pitched over the side and into the air. Instead of falling to his death, which in hindsight would have been a blessing rather than a curse, the man dangled in the air as an unknown source gripped his shirt.

A sigh of relief quickly turned into a blood curling scream as he was wrenched back over the side of the landing and into the demons' welcoming arms.

* * *

Pulled into an unexpected hug, Bella froze in the entrance of the diner as a woman, who sported a waitress attire, caught her from the side. "Bella!"

Chocolate hues widening in horror, Bella glanced at her father for help. Unfortunately for her, Charlie stood chuckling quietly into a closed fist as he watched the tall, black woman _attack_ his daughter. It was not until he registered the frantic state Bella was in that Charlie finally cleared his throat.

"Cora, I think you should release Bella before her eyes pop out of her skull," Charlie offered, much to Bella's relief.

"Oh, right. I'm sorry about that, Bella" Cora apologized as she released the girl from her clutch. "I'm just so excited you're finally here. Anyways! Come. Right this way, you two. I have your usual table available in the back, Charlie."

Finally free, Bella tugged awkwardly at the bottom of her green, buttoned shirt before adjusting the long grey sleeves at her wrist as she followed the waitress and her father to their table. As she passed the counter, Bella quickly realized that a few of the loggers had had a good chuckle at her behalf as well. Ignoring their smiles, Bella averted her gaze and slunk sullenly into her seat.

"What can I get you to drink?" Cora offered as she handed Bella a menu, oblivious to the girl's level of lack of comfort.

"Um, water…Water's fine," Bella decided. She just wanted to get passed the previous event. If she had been alone, Bella would have jumped sky high upon the initial contact. Thankfully after years of being randomly tackled by Renee, that urge had curved somewhat.

As Bella opened her menu, it finally clicked that Charlie had not received one.

"Your father comes here so often I can cook his dish in my sleep," Cora explained, as if reading her thoughts. "I'll be right back with those drinks. You take your time, dear."

Glancing at her father, Bella noted the faint blush that littered the man's pale cheeks. Quirking an eyebrow, a mischievous grin escaped as she pried for more information. "You like this place that much, then? Or is it Cora?" It was payback for him not helping her earlier.

Choking on his own breath, Charlie coughed a couple of times at his daughter's remark before stuttering an answer. "N-no. I-I, just well, they have good food." Charlie finally answered. "Also, it's easier than washing dishes."

Smiling to herself, Bella picked up her menu as she let Charlie off the hook without responding. He did, after all, come to her rescue earlier.

By the time Cora came back, Bella was ready to place her order.

"I can cook," Bella offered out of the blue a few minutes after Cora had disappeared for the second time.

Glancing up from his paper, Charlie simply blinked at Bella as if confused by either the concept or the statement.

"I do the cooking at ho- in Phoenix. Renee wasn't that great in the kitchen," Bella elaborated.

"I remember. Your mother wasn't either," Charlie smiled sadly.

Before Bella could reply, a plate of steaming cod was placed in front of her. "Here you are, dear" Cora offered with a smile before placing Charlie's regular in front of him. "As for you, Charlie: Top sirloin steak, medium rare and with as minimal veggies as possible."

Instead of leaving, Cora remained at the edge of the table.

Glancing up in curiosity, brown eyes flickered from Cora to Charlie and back again. "Um…"

"I just can't get over how grown up you are," Cora smiled. "And so gorgeous."

Glancing at her father once more, who kept his eyes on his steak, Bella finally smiled awkwardly at the woman. What was she supposed to say? Thankfully, she was saved from having to reply as another occupant appeared at their table.

"'Member me, honey?" the stranger inquired. "I was Santa one year," he offered. The man's hands wrung slightly as he smiled hopefully for the recognition.

Confused, Bella simply blinked as she took in the appearance of the fifty-some year old, bearded, hippy logger, before glancing at her father for a bit of help.

"Waylon, she hasn't had Christmas here since she was four," Charlie explained to the man.

"Bet I made an impression, though," Waylon countered, glancing at Bella again.

"You always do," Charlie sighed.

Taking the hint, Cora intervened. "Let the girl eat, Waylon," the waitress ordered before spinning the man about and sending him on his way. Instead of taking the same hint, Cora turned back around and leaned on the table, causing Bella to lean back in her seat once more.

"When you're done, I'll bring you your favorite – berry cobbler. Remember? Your dad still has it, every Thursday."

Blinking once again in confusion, Bella offered another weak smile. She did not remember at all, and certainly did not care for berry cobbler now. But, with how nice everyone had been of late, Bella simply put on the expected front. "That'd be great, thank you."

"You're welcome, dear." With a smile, Cora finally turned and went to check on the other tables.

Left alone, Bella settled into her seat and began to eat. As the silence grew between her and Charlie, Bella listened to the random bursts of conversation and laughter that filled the nearby tables. It was a few more minutes before Charlie finally broke the silence.

"So, how was school? Meet anyone?"

"It was okay," Bella lied, recalling the hormonal, pubescent boys who kept trying to touch her or looked as if they wanted to bite her head off. "I met a few people. They invited me to sit with them at lunch."

"That's good," Charlie replied before allowing the silence to resume, as if his fatherly duties were over.

Twirling her fork in her mixed vegetables, Bella debated for a moment on asking her next question. Before she could change her mind, the words had already escaped her lips. "Do you know the Cullen family?"

That caught her father's attention. Jerking his head up, Charlie glanced at Bella. "Are people talking about them again?" Charlie inquired, his voice rather gruff compared to his earlier tone.

Startled by the reaction, Bella shook her head. "No…well, a little," Bella finally admitted.

"They talk just 'cause they're newcomers," Charlie grumbled before returning to his steak. "We're lucky to have a surgeon like Dr. Cullen at our podunk hospital," Charlie offered a moment later. "Luckily his wife wanted to live in a small town instead of some big city. Else wise he wouldn't be here. As for his kids, they aren't like a lot of the hell-raisers around here."

Uncertain of how to respond, Bella simply nodded and took a bite of her broccoli.

"I just don't like narrow mindedness," Charlie explained as he eyed Bella. He had heard of the rumors about the adopted children, he didn't need Bella thinking the same thoughts. "They're good people."

"…Okay," Bella mumbled.

Satisfied with her answer, Charlie returned to his food.

Continuing to play with her vegetables, Bella glanced at her father through her lashes. If Charlie could accept mere strangers and their odd situation, would he ever be able to accept hers?

* * *

 **A/N:** So, for those who might not be aware, I decided to stick with the Bella/Victoria pairing. (I'll work on a Rosalie and/or Irina pairing another time). In turn, I'm going to alter up the original script a bit to fit the feisty redhead in earlier than I had initially planned, but it will still be a few chapters yet. As for Bella, I'll get around to explaining what she actually is later on in the story. For the most part, it's self-explanatory: she's a werecat-shifter of sorts. If her description is confusing, I can try clearing it up later.


	5. Chapter 5

**A/N:** So, the story might have taken on a slightly different twist than intended. Read and we'll see what y'all think.

* * *

 **Ch. 5**

The next day was better…and worse.

It was better because the rain had stopped. Well, at least for the moment, and that was good enough for Bella.

As the brunette pulled into the parking lot, the clouds overhead continued to gather, slowly becoming more dense and opaque. Had Bella been looking for a sign that told her to turn around and go back to bed, the rather ominous clouds drifting overhead would have been her golden ticket. However, she was not. Instead, Bella was focusing on trying to walk on the more optimistic side of the fence.

She knew what to expect from her day; unlike Phoenix, where the days alternated between A and B classes, Bella discovered that she kept the same schedule her entire semester. This meant that she no longer had to remember what day it was. Well, excluding obvious reasons such as holidays and the weekend. With this in mind, Bella slid out of her truck, careful to skip over yet another puddle, and made her way to English.

Unfortunately for the fortunate, Bella's class that day fell on par with the day before: routine and boring. People stared, the professor presented his or her lecture, and eventually the Bell rang, only to release Bella so she could repeat the process anew the next period. By the third period, Bella was trying to fall asleep at her desk. Her only saving grace was Angela.

The tall Asian had befriended Bella the day before, and much to Bella's surprise, she did not mind. Without the others about, Angela became more energetic and personable, cracking whispered jokes and helping Bella catch up on the missed material. In the end, it was because of Angela that Bella was able to focus on the discussions during Trigonometry and Spanish, instead of zoning beneath the hypnotic drone of the teacher's voice.

And that is why today was worse. She had wanted to zone, and more so pass out.

After her run yesterday afternoon, Bella had planned to go right home, curl up into a warm bed, and doze off for the next twelve hours. Much to Bella's dismay, her desires did not go according to plan. Between Charlie wanting to go out for dinner at the diner, and her professors believing that Bella needed to play catch-up on her assignments, the brunette had barely closed her eyes when the alarm went off.

Now, it was not like she had pulled an all-nighter with her homework; she had been in bed by midnight. Rather, her lack of sleep came from a simple issue: the noises.

Since the first night she spent with Charlie, Bella had unpleasantly discovered that the noises at night were drastically different than those she had become accustomed to in Phoenix. Although the echoing wind around the house certainly did not help, Bella quickly learned that the nightlife was rather abundant and alive compared to the sparse visitors in her suburbia residence. By the third night in, Bella's sensitive hearing had caught sound of every chirp, tweet, croak, cricket, moan, growl, howl, and more. If Bella had not known better, the brunette would have sworn the creatures sat right outside her bedroom window. Because of these unwanted visitors, Bella had hardly slept.

And so, as the day progressed, things simply got worse.

Along with being a good student during the first three lectures, Bella discovered that she unable to sit out during gym and nap. Instead, despite her track record from the day before, she was forced to play volleyball once again. During her distracted state of mind, and perhaps due to simply not caring, Bella failed at being extra cautious with her strength. Not once, but multiple times, Bella spiked the ball into three different people, two of which were on her team.

When the third projectile met its mark, Bella's coach pulled the brunette from the game and made her run laps. Under different circumstances, the punishment would have been worth it. With her sense of balance, Bella could have ran with her eyes closed. Sadly, that would have aroused questions that she was not in the mood to answer. Instead, Bella was forced to stay awake and exhaust her reserved energy.

By the time lunch rolled around, Bella was grumpy and in no mood to socialize.

Ignoring Jessica, who had followed her from the locker rooms to the cafeteria, Bella skipped the lunch line and headed straight for a vacant table in the back of the room. Distracted with the thought of taking a quick catnap, Bella suddenly came up short as her senses were slammed with the overpowering stench of too much cologne. Without looking, Bella knew who it was.

"Bella! Where are you going?"

"Um, over there?" Bella attempted. It was inhumane for a person to be so chipper, Bella decided as she finally raised her gaze to stare at the blonde haired boy.

"You know you can sit with us!" Mike laughed. Moving to drape an arm over Bella's shoulder, the boy quickly changed his mind and rubbed the back of his head instead as he recalled yesterday's attempt.

"Yeah, Bella," Jessica added, causing Bella to jump in surprise.

Glancing over her shoulder, Bella eyed the girl for a moment. She could have sworn Jessica had gone to the lunch line. Then it clicked – Jessica hardly ever left her alone with Mike. Shaking the thought from her mind, Bella huffed a sigh. Her intent was ruined, and since she did not want to appear rude, she meekly followed the pair to the table.

As they claimed their seats, Bella was happy to see that Jessica was currently caught up in a discussion with Mike. Using the distraction to her advantage, Bella plopped into a vacant chair. Pulling the hood of her jacket up over her head, Bella folded her arms beneath her head and tried to shut out the world.

Try as she might, however, the consistent chatter kept her awake. After a few more minutes of trying to ignore those around her, Bella finally groaned and sat up when she realized the indistinguishable buzzing directed at her was actually someone calling her name.

"Yes?" Bella sighed, realizing it was Jessica.

"They keep watching you," Jessica hissed under her breath.

That caught her attention. Mentally checking her body, Bella quickly confirmed that there was no tail swishing behind her or any other abnormalities that might alarm her classmates. So, why would someone be watching her?

Blinking in confusion, Bella turned to see who Jessica was referring to.

"No! Don't look!" Jessica hissed again as she quickly grabbed a hold of Bella's arm and turned the girl back around.

Rubbing the bridge of her nose, Bella refrained from rolling her eyes. She could not sleep and she could not look to see who was watching her, what then could she do? Taking another deep breath, Bella tried again.

"Who's watching me?" Bella asked this time instead of turning around.

"The Cullens!" Jessica whispered, her voice hitching slightly in veiled excitement.

Confused even more, Bella's brows furrowed slightly. The Cullens? Why would they be watching her? When Bella inquired a second time, Jessica just shrugged.

"Did you do something?" Jessica offered after a moment.

Thinking back over the past twenty four hours, Bella finally gave up and shook her head. "Not that I know of," Bella replied.

Bella had an idea, but decided against voicing her notions to someone like Jessica. The girl was too nosey as is. Instead Bella laid her head back down and closed her eyes. If the attention was because of Edward's tantrum the day before, then there was nothing Bella could do about the situation at the moment without making a bigger scene.

As the bell rang, signaling the end of lunch, Bella slipped out of her seat and headed to class. As she headed toward the door, Bella finally glanced over at the Cullen table. Sure enough, four pairs of golden eyes were watching her every move. It took Bella another moment to realize that Edward was not there. Odd.

Pushing the thought aside, Bella focused on more pressing matters, such as the golden retriever who had started following her down the hall. And by golden retriever, Bella meant Mike. Ever since that morning, Mike had taken on similar qualities to a boy with puppy fever; time and time again he tried to walk her to class, hold the door open for her, and engage her in useless babble. Each time, Bella had turned the boy down.

Unfortunately, Bella was not able to make up an excuse this round. Since they were both heading to Biology, Bella simply ignored Mike as he walked faithfully by her side to class. Mike continued to linger at her side until the bell rang, notifying the student body that class was in session. Only then was the boy finally forced to take his seat.

 _I'm going to have to break it to that poor bloke sooner rather than later,_ Bella realized as she caught Mike smiling wistfully at her while begrudgingly taking his actual seat. Even if she was into men, Mike was definitely not her type.

On the upside, Bella discovered that Edward was nowhere to be seen. Opening her textbook, Bella settled in for a quiet lecture on mitosis vs. meiosis.

Over the course of the next few days, Bella's schedule hardly altered, including Edward's absence.

At first, Bella had the nagging suspicion that she might be the cause of it, especially as Jessica continued to point out that the Cullens watched her during each lunch period. By Friday, Bella pushed any guilt aside. The entire situation had become ridiculous; if it was because the hormonal boy had an issue sharing a desk with her, then Bella had no problems changing seats. They could talk to Mr. Molina on Monday.

In the meantime, Bella simply enjoyed hogging her desk to herself, especially when the inanimate object did not glare at her and treat her as if she reeked.

When the bell rang, releasing her from her final class on Friday, Bella was ready to go home. Gathering her bag off the floor, Bella tossed the text book, her notes, and her pen into the open slot and made her way to the door. Even as the zipper was in the process of closing, Bella skirted around the mob of students and headed for the parking lot, eager to leave.

As she crested the stairs, Bella's eyes landed on a red M3 BMW sitting near the front of the building. Thankfully it was empty this time around. In the mornings, though, it had not been.

Not wanting to get to class too early, Bella had taken to sitting on the hood of her truck to catch up on her studying during the morning hours. It was during this time on Tuesday morning that Bella had first taken notice of the nice car – there weren't many new cars in the area, so it was hard to miss. It was then that Bella had first noticed that it was packed with Cullens, each of whom stared at Bella as they passed by.

Initially, Bella had brushed the thought aside. As the days past however, it was hard to deny the situation and continue believing she was just imagining things, especially after Bella found herself cornered in the bathroom by Edward's sisters.

Having slipped into the bathroom after Biology one day, to wash off the residue from a lab experiment, Bella had looked up to discover two pairs of golden hues studying her. It hadn't been Rosalie's cold, icy glare that had bothered her, though. Rather, it was the open curiosity etched into Alice's features. Weirded out by their presence, Bella had hurried out of the bathroom, and since then, was on high alert whenever she caught the Cullens watching her.

This is why Bella was rather relieved to see the empty car.

Climbing into _Ol' Red_ , Bella quickly dug through her bag to find what she needed – her shopping list. Paper in hand, Bella started up her truck and headed towards the market.

By the end of the first week at Charlie's, Bella discovered just how much of a bachelor her father had become. Over the week she had eaten out more than she had in a month back in Phoenix, and she was growing tired of it. Granted Renee couldn't cook, and Charlie had fallen into a routine that worked for him, but take out and the diner wasn't going to cut it for her.

After a few days, Charlie finally conceded to Bella's plea to let her take over kitchen detail. At first, Charlie had been hesitant. He had recalled his ex-wife's lack of cooking ability and didn't want to put any strain on Bella's grades. However, those thoughts quickly went out the window when Charlie came home to a homemade meal ready and waiting for him to sit down and dig into. After that, Charlie was more than eager to hand over the keys to the banquet hall, settle back, and be served like a king.

Eager to fill the fridge with more than bologna and beer, Bella quickly whipped up a shopping list for a weekly and monthly menu. It was rather easy, for Bella discovered that Charlie wasn't as picky as Renee, but rather daunting when she took stock of the actual groceries in the cupboards. Because of this, and the fact that she didn't want to alarm Charlie with the grocery bill, Bella decided to split the shopping up into segments. That first night, she had filled the house up with the essentials – bread, cheese, meat, milk, and the next week she targeted more of the side ingredients. Today she planned to replenish the essentials Charlie and her had gone through and add some odd items to the list, such as spices and seasonings.

Pulling into the supermarket's parking lot, Bella killed the engine, grabbed her list, and made her way inside. Fetching a cart as she passed through the door, Bella headed down the first isle. If she was quick, she could get in and out before the rain began.

In the end, Bella was quick. To top it off, she also made it back to the truck and loaded the groceries into the bed in record time. It was then that Bella realized her mistake. Staring back at her through the driver's window were her keys. Having set them down when she picked up the list, Bella could only assume they had slid off her lap in her haste.

"Stupid, stupid, stupid," Bella murmured as she knocked her head gently into the glass.

"Dear, are you alright?"

Startled by the concerned, motherly tone behind her, Bella turned around to reassure the woman. Her words never came out though. Instead, chocolate hues locked with golden orbs. Another Cullen?

"Dear?" The woman tried again.

Shaking her head, Bella offered a weak smile as she jerked her thumb over her shoulder. "I locked my keys in my car," Bella explained as she took in the shopper's appearance.

About her height, Bella noticed that although her hair was brown as well, it had a lighter, honey sheen to it. In turn, the woman had a full, hourglass figure and very pale skin. Beside the eyes and skin tone though, she looked nothing like the other Cullens. Perhaps Bella was jumping to conclusions.

"Oh, my. That's not good."

"No," Bella sighed, brought back to the situation. "No, it's not."

"Do you have a spare under the truck?"

"Um, no. I don't think so," Bella replied after a moment. "Char-my dad only gave me one."

"Have you tried a locksmith?" The woman inquired next. "Your father?"

"Well, no. No cellphone," Bella admitted, rubbing the back of her neck.

"You may use mine," the woman offered, quickly pulling hers out.

"It's okay," Bella declined. "I don't know his number off the top of my head, just the house phone, but he's at work."

"When does he get off work?"

"Um." Glancing at her watch, Bella tried to recall Charlie's work schedule for that weekend. "It's a bit past four, so in a few hours I think."

"Well, you can't wait here, how about I give you a ride home and you can check for a spare?"

"Oh, that's okay. The house is just a few miles down the road. I can just walk," Bella reassured, once again declining the woman's offer.

"With all the groceries and in the rain-to-come?" The woman countered, arching an eyebrow in amusement.

"Well…" If it had been dark, Bella would have ran the short trip. The groceries weren't heavy and with her speed she would make it there faster than what Ol' Red could do.

"Come, I'll help you with the groceries," the woman decided. Before Bella could object, her groceries were easily hefted out of the bed of the truck and transferred into the woman's car a few parking slots down.

Deciding a ride would be better than walking; Bella sulked to the car and climbed in.

"I can pay you for gas," Bella offered as she buckled up.

"Nonsense!" The woman smiled and pulled out onto the main road. "It's my pleasure to help a damsel in distress."

Blushing at the remark, Bella stared out the window.

Instead of falling into an awkward silence during the ride, Bella discovered that her companion was rather easy to converse with.

At first Bella had been embarrassed to admit that she was horrible with street names; instead she relied on landmarks. This quirk, however, is what led them to their current discussion as they pulled up to Bella's house.

"Really, you should come by when you have a day free and we could take a look at your list," the woman offered as she turned off the car.

"Are you sure?" Bella inquired.

During the trip, Bella had used the unique-to-her house designs and the various lawn decorations to point out the necessary route. This in turn had led to the discussion of northern versus southern house designs and decorating techniques. By the end of the conversation, Bella had found herself eagerly discussing a handful of do-it-yourself projects she wanted to complete for Charlie's place, which had caused the woman to offer the use of her power tools and her assistance.

"Absolutely."

Initially, Bella was going to decline since this complete stranger had helped her out so much as is. However, the longer she thought of saying no, the harder it was becoming.

 _Come on, Bella. She's a professional and could give you inside tips,_ Bella reasoned.

"Okay then."

"Brilliant!" The woman beamed.

Returning the smile, it took Bella a moment to pull her eyes away as she realized she had been staring at the driver. Coughing to cover her embarrassment, Bella quickly slid out of the car and grabbed the groceries.

"Well, thank you for your help," Bella began as she set the groceries down on the front porch.

"It was my pleasure. Are you sure you don't want help looking for the key? I don't mind driving you back."

"I couldn't put you out like that, especially after how nice you've been already."

"It really is no problem."

Before Bella could accept the offer, both heads turned at the sound of gravel crunching beneath a set of tires.

Blinking in surprise, Bella watched as the cruiser pulled into the available parking space before her father climbed out.

"Hi dad," Bella waved, suddenly awkward.

"Everything okay, Bells? I got a call from the supermarket." Charlie explained as he crossed the grass and walked up the steps.

"Oh, yeah. I locked my keys in the car and got a lift from-" Turning to introduce the woman, it dawned on Bella that she had never got a name.

"Esme. It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Sheriff Swan," Esme greeted.

"Esme, as in Esme Cullen?" Charlie frowned for a moment before smiling as he made the connection.

"The one and only," Esme grinned.

"Oh, and here they had made it out to sound like some strange woman had abducted my daughter."

Shifting awkwardly as Esme laughed, Bella couldn't help but smile. She didn't like the fact that her father had worried for naught, but she definitely liked the woman's laugh. Bella realized she would do it all again if she had to.

"No, no abducting, just giving Isabella a lift."

Blinking, Bella studied the woman. Just like Esme had never introduced herself, Bella had never given Esme her name. Before she could become suspicious, Bella remembered that she was now living in a small town where word traveled like wildfire.

"Ah, well, thank you for that. Is something wrong with the truck?"

"No, I just locked the keys in the cab. Do we have a spare?" Bella inquired finally.

"There's one in the draw with the other keys. Let me go get it." With that, Charlie let himself into the house, leaving the two women on the porch.

"So, I guess I'll get my dad to give me a lift after all," Bella began as the silence stretched on.

"Are you sure?" Esme frowned.

"Yeah. I really do appreciate your help today though."

"Like I said, I was only helping a damsel in distress," Esme winked, causing Bella to blush again.

"Here we go," Charlie called as he walked out the door and closed it behind him. Turning around, brown eyes landed on an awkwardly shifting daughter as Esme stood smiling politely at him. Deciding not to inquire, Charlie just shook his head. "Thank you again, Esme."

"Anytime, Sheriff Swan. If you ever need me to keep an eye on your daughter, just call," Esme offered. "And, Bella, when you're free, and if it's okay with your father, don't hesitate to come over. I'll help you with those projects," Esme reminded the girl before taking her leave.

"Projects?" Charlie inquired as they settled into the cruiser and headed back to the market after taking the groceries in.

"Yeah. Esme apparently remodels homes for a living and offered me access to her equipment, sample books, and help," Bella explained.

"Ah, well, I'd feel much safer with you using power tools with someone else around," Charlie reasoned.

"So, it's okay?"

"Sure. How much trouble can you get into with a mother of four kids your own age?" Charlie chuckled.

* * *

 **A/N:** So, Esme kind of popped up into the story. By kind of I mean a lot and caused the story to take on it's own twist. Suggestions: do we pursue and make it a pairing between Bella, Victoria, and Esme or knock it up to just the vampire curiosity of Bella and Esme's sweet persona?


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N:** Thank you all for the feedback on the pairing options, the comments were rather entertaining - it's amusing to know how many are game for something more than a simple pairing between two parties. If I didn't know better, I would say my readers force my hand into the multiple mates. Anyhoo, I shall take it into consideration and see what comes about. More than likely, with how my twisted brain is, it will be a mesh up of the three. Now, without further ado, lets add this rather quick chapter, continue the story, and bring Victoria into the picture. Enjoy.

* * *

 **Ch. 6**

Putting the final dish in the cupboard, Bella grabbed a dish towel and dried her hands on the rag as she glanced about the house.

 _Let's see… Dishes are done and the kitchen's clean… Floors have been swept and mopped; carpet's been vacuumed,_ Bella mentally checked as she hung the damp towel over the bar on the oven. Turning off the kitchen light, Bella swept through the house as she continued to go through the list of things she wanted done that Saturday morning.

Bella quickly realized that Charlie had similar habits to Renee. After the woman showed no promise, let alone interest, in taking care of their home in Phoenix, Bella fell into the routine of picking up the slack. Already accustomed to the habit of cleaning, Bella quickly took on the more domestic responsibilities in Forks. Not only did it provide her a peace of mind, but it also resulted in a clean living quarter.

 _Laundry's done. Bathroom's been cleaned. The bedroom's well enough..._ _Charlie can clean his own,_ Bella figured as she grabbed a discarded fleece jacket and hung it up by the back door with the rest. Shaking her head at Charlie's lack of organization, Bella headed up the stairs.

Over the past few weeks she had slowly cleaned up and rearranged the house to be more homely, welcoming, and just neater all around. It was finally starting to feel like home, and so far, Charlie didn't appear to mind the alterations. Well, at least once he saw them.

It didn't take Bella long to grasp the concept that Charlie would brush the idea aside if she asked for permission to do something. It was simply a waste of time and got Bella nowhere when she attempted to verbally explain what she wanted to alter. To counter this, Bella decided to go with the philosophy of don't ask, just do, and if need be, beg for forgiveness later.

Surprisingly, Charlie was much more open minded with this concept. After the initial shock passed, her father was rather pleased with the alterations. Now, if only Bella could teach him to clean up and maintain the changes.

Rummaging through her dresser as Bella made mental notes to remind Charlie to hang his coats up in the future, Bella pulled out a pair of running shorts. Exchanging them for her sweats, Bella then grabbed a hoodie. Pulling it over the old t-shirt she already had on, Bella made her way back downstairs for her shoes.

"Where you off to, Bells?" Charlie called from the living room, settling in for the afternoon game.

"I thought I would go for a run before the rain hits," Bella answered as she sat on the couch to put her socks and shoes on.

"Sure you don't want to relax, kiddo?" Charlie frowned. "You've been going nonstop all morning."

Charlie had a point. Since last night, Bella had felt restless and on edge. Unable to sleep, Bella had stayed up, and in an effort to focus her mind on something besides the unknown itch in the back of her skull, Bella put her restlessness to a more productive outlet: her homework. By the time the sun rose, Bella was exhausted, but happy. She was no longer behind her classmates. On the contrary, she had caught up and read ahead to free up the rest of the weekend.

Unfortunately, the restless itch returned as soon as she closed the books.

Realizing that she still wouldn't be able to sleep, Bella headed downstairs into the kitchen. In matter of minutes, Bella had the coffee brewing and breakfast waiting for Charlie as he stepped out of the shower. Afterwards, Bella spent the morning scrubbing at anything she could get ahold of.

It still wasn't enough. She needed to get out of the house.

"I'm sure," Bella replied as she stuffed her foot into the second shoe. Forcing a smile, more for her father's sake than out of being happy, Bella looped the strings into a knot and then excused herself.

Leaving Charlie to watch the game, Bella headed for the woods, wanting to get away from people and the town. Not wanting to attract attention, Bella restrained her speed for the first few miles. Running at a normal human pace, encase there were others lingering about, Bella made her way slowly, and deeper into the trees.

Coming to a halt a while later, Bella scouted the area for a dry log to stash her clothes in. Finding a fallen tree, Bella checked the area before stripping. Once her clothes were safely stashed, Bella moved a safe distance away then allowed her mind to finally fall empty.

Released of her self-control, Bella felt her skin ripple as it changed into that of a giant feline. Within seconds, russet fur replaced pale flesh as her body twisted and morphed to tower on four sturdy limbs. Fur bristling as it met the damp air, Bella allowed a shudder to wrack her entire body. Completely free for the first time since earlier that week, Bella bounced off into the trees once more.

She had told her dad that she wanted to run, but in reality, Bella needed to hunt.

Mile after mile passed beneath Bella's wide paws, the ground disappearing in her haste to put a vast distance between herself and civilization.

Washington might not be as populated as Arizona, but Bella still had to be careful. After almost getting caught twice, once when she had accidently hunted in a national park, and another time when she had strayed too close to a camping ground, Bella realized that there were too many tourist locations. Instead, Bella had taken to roaming the mountains nearby. It wasn't close, but the distance allowed her to stretch and exhaust the urge to run ramped.

After another hour or so, Bella finally slowed her pace as she reached a safe and desired distance. Taking a moment to appreciate the area around her, Bella couldn't help but feel minute next to the towering pines as she scented the ground and the air around her. Within the quiet forest, Bella finally relaxed as she took her time tracing the intertwining trails with her nose. The run was over, it was time to play.

Over the years, Bella had discovered that she was a picky hunter. Yes, she might need to hunt to curve her ravenous appetite, by why make it just about killing? It was almost an art to hand select her prey. On the same note, Bella was rather proud of the fact that she could control her more innate desires and not act on some of her urges to just kill the first tantalizing scent.

Because of this, Bella had two rules when hunting. First off, she refused to hunt fellow felines; it just felt wrong. Secondly, Bella tried not to kill mothers. It felt wrong, but not the same wrong as hunting her own kind. It was more to do with guilt. The young would have a difficult time surviving on their own. In turn, the offspring would more than likely die, in one manner or another. As a result, and the last part of why she didn't care to kill the mothers, the lack of offspring would cause her food supply to rapidly deplete.

Continuing to stalk the forest grounds, Bella's ears suddenly perked, even as the hair on the back of her neck rose. She had caught the scent of a fresh trail of blood. Normally, Bella would stray away from wounded animals. The feline was capable of hunting and killing her own prey; there was no fun in taking another critter's meal or taking down the maimed. Let the other predators have an easy meal. Similarly, she didn't want to fight for her meal. Bella had discovered early on that she was overly possessive over her kills, and didn't want to injure another hunter when it wasn't necessary.

But this, this smelt different than any prey she had hunted before. It almost reminded her of when she smelt human blood.

Intrigued, Bella slowed her pace even more and slinked through the woods. Getting downwind of the scent, Bella easily made her way up a nearby hill, and as she encroached the tree line of a small clearing, crouched in the shadows. Surveying the area around her, Bella was startled at her discovery. Off to the side, was a collapsed tent. Beside it, a small campfire flickered in vain; the faint drizzle of rain easily extinguishing the little flames.

In turn, Bella could smell that a man had occupied the area, but she couldn't sense anyone nearby. This alone would have caused Bella to become suspicious; the supplies that littered the ground, scattered haphazardly as if knocked over in haste, however, made Bella concerned. Forehead scrunching in confusion, Bella scanned the area once again. Something had scared the camper, and recently at that.

Sniffing the air once more, Bella caught the scent of blood once again, but this time something even more enticing. Now intrigued even further by the conundrum, Bella continued her hunt.

Keeping to the shadows, Bella followed both scents. On one hand, Bella was thankful that both went in the same direction. Had she been forced to choose to help the camper or go after the mysterious scent, Bella honestly didn't know what she would do. On the other hand, Bella had the sinking suspicion that the alluring aroma might be the cause of the man's disappearance.

Sure enough, as Bella crouched in another patch of shadows, the large feline nearly gasped in surprise. There, in front of her, was the source of her investigation.

Under different circumstances, Bella would have assumed she had simply stumbled upon a random chick going to town on her boyfriend's neck, the two making out in the woods. Unfortunately, that wasn't the case; it wasn't just some chick and her boyfriend, lost in the woods. No, it was the missing camper, and what appeared to be a homeless savage, one blessed with flaming red locks, ripping at the poor lad's throat.

Barefoot, the woman was garbed in a pair of tattered jeans; the caked on layers of mud made Bella question if they had been washed recently, if ever. Along with the jeans, Bella caught a glimpse of a frayed green shirt beneath an animal pelt that draped across muscular shoulders. What caught Bella's attention, however, was the ruby, blood encrusted lips. They weren't kissing the skin beneath, but rather caressed the corpse's neck, as if sucking the life right out of the boy.

For the first time in all her years, Bella no longer felt like she was the king of the woods. What monstrosity would prey on humans, especially so close to her home?

Balking in the shadows, Bella debated on whether she should stay and fight the beast or run before she was noticed. Glancing at the man once more, Bella realized there was no point trying to save the man. He had lost too much blood at this point, and by the limp frame and lack of heartbeat, he wasn't even alive. Even so, she couldn't allow the monster to go on and take another innocent life.

With dread, Bella realized she would have to fight. Animals were one thing; she was large, even compared to the local grizzlies. Man eating monsters? That was something else. Bella was more accustomed to luring her prey into a trap, not challenging them out right. Still, it had to be done.

Crouching into the leaves to attack, Bella blinked in surprise as the redhead suddenly lifted her head and stared straight at Bella. Knowing that the wind hadn't shifted, the feline's brows furrowed in confusion. How had the woman caught her scent? That thought quickly disappeared, however, as crimson orbs, brighter than the flowing tangle of hair, and as tantalizing as the blood dripping down the woman's chin, locked with electric green.

Frozen in place, Bella simple stared in awe. The awe, in turn, quickly faded into confusion as the woman dropped her prey and disappeared into the trees.

Baffled, Bella rose from her hiding place and moved into the open. Was she that intimidating or was the woman simply luring her into a faux sense of security? Glancing about, Bella scented the air, and no matter which of her senses she utilized, she could tell that the monster was long gone.

 _Should I go after her?_ Shaking her large head, Bella immediately squashed the silly notion as it popped into her thick skull.

She had been lucky. Now was not the time to test that luck. Yes, she was a large predator, but Bella was out of her element. She knew that other creatures like her existed, but she had no clue what she had just encountered. Furthermore, Bella had only heard of evil things associated with monsters that preyed on humans.

Speaking of which, Bella gazed sadly at the man lying lifeless where he hit the dirt. His head had been practically detached from the body and an arm had been torn free of his torso. For a moment, Bella debated on what to do.

Should she call and notify the authorities? And say what? That a man-eating monster killed him? No, that wouldn't do. Besides, she had no phone, nor any clothes to change into. And, even if she did, how was she going to explain her presence to the cops?

'Oh officer, I sometimes change into this wild beast and go for a romp through the woods. I promise I don't hunt humans, only four legged critters with fluffy tails. On today's outing, I just happened to stumble across this woman, with amazing eyes and hair like fire, who was mowing down on this guy's neck.'

Ha! That wouldn't work. If anything, she'd get shipped off to the loony bin, if not sent to the capital with a note stating that her head was to be decapitated for _scientific research._

Glancing at the guy once more, Bella debated on relocating the camper. The least she could do was get him back to the campsite. As the feline toyed with the idea, Bella felt her stomach clench in disgust; she didn't want a dead human corpse in her mouth, let alone in her arms. Furthermore, she didn't want her DNA on his body if the place became a crime scene.

Realizing there was nothing she could do with the dead corpse, Bella turned and headed for home. She was no longer in the mood to hunt or play.

* * *

Grabbing her coat from the hook on the wall, Bella slipped it on before opening the front door. God bless Mondays, the bane of every student's existence as it announced the start of a new week of school.

By the time Bella had gotten home Saturday night, the only thing the girl wanted to do was crawl into bed and forget the world. Thankfully, Charlie was more concerned about her health, what with Bella being out so late on her 'run', that he sent her straight up stairs to take a shower. Without asking questions, Charlie simply stated that he would order pizza so Bella didn't have to worry about cooking; afterwards, Bella was to go right to bed.

Unfortunately, despite Charlie's good intentions, sleep and a peace of mind eluded Bella once again.

Instead, the weekend dragged on. Simultaneously, it passed too quickly as thoughts of the woman with blood red eyes and skin as white as snow haunted Bella's every thought. Because of this, Bella hadn't slept a wink, and she was not looking forward to school. To make things even better, as Bella opened the door, all she saw was a downpour of rain.

 _Great,_ Bella sighed, her face filling with dismay. _More bloody rain._

Shivering as the wind slammed her back a few steps, Bella wrapped her coat tightly about her slender torso and closed the front door as her truck pulled into the driveway.

"Dad, I can drive myself to school," Bella pointed out as she made her way down the steps.

Distracted with avoiding the frozen puddle at the bottom of the steps, Bella missed her father's reply. Unfortunately, as she looked up to ask him to repeat himself, Bella still managed to slip on the ice. Realizing that Charlie was watching, Bella allowed gravity to take over and landed on her rear.

"Bells! You okay?" Charlie inquired, concern lacing his voice as he hurried over to help his daughter up.

"Yeah," Bella grimaced. Two seconds earlier and Bella could have avoided the fall, but she really didn't want to alert her father to her gymnastic abilities. "Just the ice you know? Doesn't help that I'm naturally uncoordinated," Bella joked with the lie as she accepted the helping hand.

Frowning, Charlie eyed his daughter to make sure nothing was broken. "That's why I got you some new tires for your truck. The other ones were nearly bald," Charlie explained, rubbing the back of his neck.

Feeling her heart swell and crack at the act of fatherly affection, Bella hid her smile as she witnessed Charlie's awkward moment. "Thanks, dad."

"Yeah, well. With winter coming, I want to make sure you're safe. You know, driving to school and all."

"They're perfect, I really appreciate it," Bella smiled. In a random act of affection of her own, Bella hugged her father before climbing into her truck.

Startled by the unexpected contact, Charlie headed towards his cruiser without a further word.

As he was about to shut the door, though, Charlie poked his head back up. "Oh, before I forget. I'll be late for dinner. I'm heading down to Mason County. A security guard at Grisham Mill got killed by some kind of animal."

"An animal?" Bella repeated, brows furrowing as she thought back to the day before.

"You're not in Phoenix anymore, Bells," Charlie warned. "They've been hunting the beast for a week now. We got reports that a camper was attacked as well, so I want you to stay out of the woods for a while until we get this sorted."

"Okay, dad," Bella lied. "Be careful."

"Always am."

"Oh, and thank you. You know, for the tires."

Nodding, Charlie pulled the door to the Cruiser shut and backed out of the driveway, leaving Bella to sit in silence.

 _Did I leave my prints at the scene? It was raining, so maybe… Even still, they wouldn't know it was me._ Shaking her head, Bella backed out of the driveway herself and headed to school. There was no way she could be traced back to the scene of the crime. Her DNA wasn't on record, nor was the fact that she could turn into a large beast. _Besides, Charlie thinks that the two incidences are connected… Does that mean the woman is also responsible for the guard as well?_

Distracted with her thoughts, Bella failed to notice the pair of ruby orbs watching her from the trees behind the house as she drove towards school.


	7. Chapter 7

First period passed in a blur, even with the pop quiz on Wuthering Heights. Despite being tired, Bella felt she had done fairly well due to her weekend cram session. Now, if only the rest of her day would go as easily.

Walking out of English, Bella's wishes went down the drain. What had started out as a light drizzle of rain that morning had turned into swirling bits of white.

"Wow," Mike said, following Bella out of the classroom. "It's snowing."

"Great," Bella groaned. _There goes my good day_.

"You don't like snow?" Mike inquired, eyebrows arching in surprise.

"No," Bella replied as she pulled her jacket tighter about her torso as they made their way to the next building. "Snow means that it's too cold for rain, which means I should be in bed somewhere warm." Ignoring the wind as it lashed at her cheeks and nose, chocolate orbs watched as the little cotton fluffs danced erratically across her path. "Besides, I thought it was supposed to come down in flakes – you know, each one unique and all that. These just look like the ends of Q-tips."

"Wait," Mike stopped Bella. "Haven't you ever seen snow fall before?" he asked incredulously.

"Sure I have," Bella sniffed. After a moment's pause she added, "on TV."

Laughing, Mike shook his head. "Oh, Arizona. This isn't nothing, just wait and-."

Bella never did find out what came after the "and." Instead of finishing his sentence, a gasp escaped past the boy's lips as a big, squishy, ball of dripping snow smacked into the back of the blonde's head.

Reaching up with a hand, Mike pulled his fingers away. Wet with the melting snow, Mike turned around to glance over his shoulder. "Oh, that boy is going to get it," Mike hissed in glee as he caught the sight of Eric walking away from the scene of the crime.

"Hey, I'll see you at lunch, okay?" Bella offered as she watched Mike bend over and begin scraping together a pile of white mush. Without waiting for a reply, Bella used Mike's distraction and disappeared to her next class. She had no intentions of getting in the middle of a snowball fight, and something told her that if she stayed she would get just that.

Throughout the rest of her morning, all Bella heard about was the delight of the snowfall so late in the season. From inside a warm, dry building, Bella could accept the beauty of the swirling flurries. Outside, playing in it? No thank you. In reality, or at least in Bella's mind, snow simply consisted of frozen rain; frozen rain that led people into a false security, only to melt in your socks when you least expect it.

Sure enough, by the time lunch rolled around, the snow had turned back into a light drizzle. Instead of deterring the students, as Bella had expected, the free period consisted of a storm of misguided mush balls. Not looking forward to being a moving target, Bella moved across the courtyard with her binder in hand. Despite Jessica's giggling commentary the entire way, Bella was determined to use it as a shield if necessary.

Thankfully, she made it to the lunch line unscathed and dry; Mike couldn't claim the same.

Following Jessica and Bella, the boy was busy shaking melting ice from his spiked hair and drenched jacket. Despite his predicament, the boy was rosy cheek and talking animatedly about the continuing snow fight saga him, Eric, and Tyler had been engaged in.

Uninterested in the details, Bella allowed her gaze to traverse the cafeteria. Since Friday afternoon, her mind had been filled with the thoughts of the Cullens, especially one in particular. Well, that is when it wasn't distracted by the mysterious woman in the woods. Because of this, Bella's eyes drifted almost automatically to the corner.

It took Bella's brain a moment to catch up to what she was seeing. It wasn't the fact that the Cullens were laughing. They were enjoying the snow day as well by the looks of things; Emmett especially. Just like the other students, his hair was saturated in melting snow. Even Jasper was smiling as Alice squealed when Emmett suddenly shook his mop of dark curls out on his sister.

What was different to Bella was that there were five, not four, people sitting at the table. Edward had returned. Curiously, though, the boy wasn't scowling like she had last seen him. Instead, he sat there laughing with his family as Alice tried to use Rosalie as a shield when Jasper tried flicking bits of frozen ice at the petite pixie.

Brows furrowing, Bella continued to watch the family from the lunch line. Putting the laughter and playfulness aside, there was something odd about the family. In a fashion, the way the family interacted looked more like a pre-scripted, coordinated scene from a movie than the rest of the bumbling students, many of whom continued to slip on the melting patches of ice as they chased each other in the courtyard. Before Bella could place her finger on the difference, the brunette jumped as a hand pulled her arm.

"Earth to Bella! Hello? Bella?" Jessica continued to call as Bella's head turned to focus on the girl.

"What?"

"Food? Line? What do you want?"

Blinking, Bella realized that they had made it halfway through the line without her selecting anything.

"Oh, um. I'm not hungry," Bella finally answered. Receiving a weird look from both Jessica and Mike, Bella wrapped one arm around her torso for effect. "I'm not really feeling well. I think I'll just get a soda," Bella elaborated. Without waiting for a reply, Bella cut through to the end of the line, ever aware that her friends were watching her with concern.

"What's up with Bella?"

Even with the distance between her and her friends, Bella's sharp hearing caught Mike's question. She was feeling just fine, she had just been thrown off guard when they caught her staring. Ears burning, Bella paid for her drink and headed to their table. As she made her way to the table, Bella glanced once more at the Cullens. This time, instead of sneaking a peak at the friendly banter, brown eyes locked with five sets of golden hues.

Once again, Bella was caught off guard. Distracted by the sight, Bella stubbed her toe during a misstep. In an effort to regain her bearing, Bella refocused her attention on where she was walking, and ended up skipping a couple of paces in order to avoid performing a face plant in front of the rest of the student body. By the time Bella's gaze returned to the corner, the Cullens had resumed their private discussion. This time, however, it was much more subdue and even with her acute hearing, Bella could hardly garnish much from the hushed whispers.

Finally reaching her seat, Bella plopped down beside Angela. With a short greeting, Bella allowed her mind to replay what she had just seen. Why had they been staring at her? More so, why couldn't she hear their conversation? She could listen in on everyone else's, so how could five teenagers speak so quickly and quietly? Before she could accumulate too many theories, Bella was joined by the rest of her peers and forced to engage in the lunchtime gossip.

"He's staring at you again," Jessica remarked a while later.

Glancing up from spinning the tab of her soda, Bella blinked in confusion. "Who?"

"Edward Cullen," Jessica giggled.

"Huh."

"Huh? Really, Bella?"

"What? I don't think he likes me, so why does he keep staring?" Bella huffed as she snapped the tab off without keeping the center piece on. Frustrated at messing it up, Bella tossed the little metal piece onto the table beside the empty can.

"The Cullens don't like anybody," Jessica dismissed. "But. He is still staring at you."

Rolling her eyes, Bella pulled her hood up and tried to get a little nap in before the bell rang. Let them stare; all they'd get is an exhausted kitty.

By the end of lunch, Bella was nowhere closer to napping than man was landing on the sun. Between Mike repeatedly asking if she was okay, each of which Bella replied that she was, and sharing about epic snow battles in the past, Bella had no peace of mind. In a ditch effort to get the boy to be quiet, Bella ushered him off to class; informing the blonde parrot that he could walk with her as long as he was silent. Happy with the circumstances, Mike fell into line without further ado until they got to class.

"Hello."

Stopping at the greeting, with Mike hovering at her shoulder, Bella blinked in surprise as she looked up to see Edward staring at her from their desk. She had just seen Edward in the cafeteria, so logically she would see him in class. What confused her was his friendly demeanor.

"Um, hi," Bella replied as she slowly took her seat.

Realizing he was dismissed, Mike eyed Edward once more before stomping off to his seat, completely forgotten.

"I didn't have a chance to introduce myself last week," Edward began after watching Mike leave.

Bella simply stared in response. Instead of replying, Bella remained quiet as she analyzed Edward; she couldn't help but notice that the boy's speech was direct and precise, as if speaking suddenly became a difficult conception.

"My name is Edward Cullen," the boy continued, and after another stretch of silence he added, "And you're Bella."

Eyebrow arching at the boy beside her, Bella simply blinked again before silently turning to place her bag on the table. It wasn't that she wanted to be rude, Bella was just stunned at the guy's audacity to treat her like scum one day and want to be civil the next. And now, he tops it off by speaking to her like she was slow? No thank you.

"Good afternoon class!" Mr. Molina greeted, pulling Bella from her thoughts. "Today we're going to work on onion root tip cells. If you'll grab your microscopes, we can begin."

Reaching into the middle of the desk for the microscope, Bella's brows furrowed as Edward abruptly moved to the extreme edge of the seat. Baffled and slightly insulted, Bella was about to ask Edward what his issue was before she was interrupted by Mr. Molina once again.

"Come on, people. Tick tock. Now, for today, I want you and your partner to separate and label the provided slides into the different phases of mitosis. And," Mr. Molina added in excitement. "The first partners to get it right wins-" reaching behind him, the instructor produced a softball sized item "-the golden onion!" Mr. Molina exclaimed as he raised it for all to see.

Instead of cheers, the students stared on in bored silence.

Disappointed by their apathy, Mr. Molina huffed and took his seat. "You may begin."

Shaking her head, Bella looked back down at her desk as a slight scraping caught her attention. Edward had just pushed the microscope towards her.

"Ladies first," Edward offered, his voice even more restrained.

Grabbing the microscope, Bella deftly snapped the first slide into place. Leaning forward, she adjusted the lens and with quick and practice eased called out her answer. "Prophase."

"May I look?" Edward inquired as she began to remove the slide.

Not caring one way or another, Bella slid the microscope across the table.

Waiting for Bella's hand to completely detach, Edward glanced through the lens. "Prophase."

"Like I said," Bella murmured. She might be a teenage girl, but she knew her Biology. This was simple stuff compared to what she had researched over the years to figure out the specifics of her "condition," as Renee liked to refer to it.

Ignoring Bella's remark, Edward slowly jotted down the answer. Setting his pen down, Bella watched as Edward took a breath, as if trying to calm himself, before turning to her.

"Enjoying the rain?" Edward tried again, the enormous amount of effort not lost on Bella.

"Seriously? You're asking me about the weather?" Bella retorted, one eyebrow arching.

"It appears."

Grabbing the microscope, Bella replaced the slide as she debated on answering. As she adjusted the eyepiece, Bella finally responded. "No, I'm not. I don't like the cold, or the wet. I'm not a big fan of the parkas and turtle necks, either," Bella added for good measure.

Out of the corner of her eye, Bella thought she caught a small smile playing at the boy's lips. For the first time in the past week, Edward appeared more intrigued than agonized as he studied her.

"And what about you?" Bella finally inquired her tone a bit curt.

"The weather?" Edward frowned once again.

"No. I mean, you've been gone the past week – where were you," Bella elaborated as she offered Edward the microscope for him to answer this round.

"I've been out of town," Edward replied hesitantly as he accepted the microscope. "For personal reasons."

Eyeing Edward, Bella couldn't help but notice how perfect his facial structure appeared, especially with her enhanced eyesight. It was almost as if he had been sculpted out of marble rather than birthed and shaped through genetics and exposure to life. The only mar was the dark rings that lingered around his eyes.

"Anaphase," Edward stated with confidence as he sat up.

Wondering if Edward had noticed her staring, Bella covered it up with a dry expression. "May I?" If her lab partner wanted to check her work, it was only fair.

Accepting the microscope, Bella peaked through the lens. It didn't take her long to spot the mitosis stage. "Anaphase," Bella agreed.

"Like I said," Edward smirked.

Ignoring the smirk, Bella held her hand out for another slide. Instead of handing her one, Edward pushed the case over to Bella for her to grab.

Back and forth the two went for the next few minutes, the only verbal conversation coming as one or the other called out the different stages.

"If you hate the cold and rain," Edward finally questioned, breaking the silence," why move to the wettest place in the continental U.S.?"

Eying Edward for a moment, Bella selected another slide as she debated on answering. "It's complicated," Bella finally replied.

"I think I can keep up," Edward challenged.

Hovering over the eyepiece, Bella debated on answering Edward's question.

Should she tell him the truth? Tell him that the reason she moved is so Renee could have a normal life with her husband; the same husband that accidently found out about her tail and looked at her as if she was an abomination? Reveal to this complete stranger that Renee wasn't her mother, like most had come to believe, but had been forced to raise her when her mother simply disappeared one day? Was it okay to inform this boy, the same boy who looked at her with such disdain, that she wasn't normal like the rest of the students, but could change into a ferocious, man-devouring, beast at the drop of a dime?

No. That would be too complicated.

"I wanted to live with my dad," Bella finally supplied as she looked up from the eyepiece. "Interphase."

"Very complex," Edward drawled as he scribbled down the final answer after he double checked.

Finished before the others, Bella sat back and allowed her attention to wander. Out of the corner of her eye, Bella could see Mike and his partner repeatedly comparing two or three slides, as if confused by which stage each one held. They weren't the only ones confused. Across the room, Bella spotted a book laying open under the table to be used as a reference.

Continuing to look around, Bella's eyes finally returned to her own desk, and in turn, Edward. That is how Bella discovered the inexplicable look of frustration in Edward's golden hues.

 _Wait… That's it, that's what's odd,_ Bella realized as the subtle difference in Edward's face clicked inside her mind.

"Did you get contacts?"

"Pardon?"

"Your eyes, they're different."

"It must have been the light," Edward offered before looking away.

"Right," Bella mumbled as she sat back in her seat.

She could have sworn his eyes were ebony last week. The color had been striking against the background of his pale flesh and messy, chestnut locks. Today they were a strange ocher.

Taking one more peek, Bella shrugged. There was no way to prove he was lying, and it wasn't like it mattered if his eyes changed color. Sure, she had heard of some hazel eyes changing from blue to green or grey, or even eyes turning red when angry, but black to a butterscotch gold? That was a bit far fetch.

Closing her eyes, Bella curled her arms behind her head and lounged back in her seat until the other groups were done. Unfortunately, her pose attracted the instructor's attention before she was ready to focus on the class.

"If you are napping in my class, Ms. Swan, I expect you to have the correct answers to each question," Mr. Molina snapped, causing Bella to sit upright. "Paper."

Edward handed over the answers to Mr. Molina's outstretched hand.

At first, Mr. Molina simply grazed over the answers, but not catching a single error, stared more intently at the results.

"So, Edward, didn't you think Isabella should get a chance with the microscope?" The instructor finally inquired.

"Bella," Edward corrected automatically, causing Bella to look up in surprise. That was the second time he had referred to her by the preferred name and not the extended version without being asked.

"Actually, she identified two thirds of the answers," Edward continued, bringing Bella's attention back to the current situation at hand.

Mr. Molina glanced at Bella, his eyes narrowing in skeptically. "Have you done this lab before?" He finally questioned, recalling that Bella was a transfer student.

"No," Bella answered honestly. And she hadn't. Why look at onion roots when she could study her own mutant cells?

"Whitefish blastula?"

She had done that lab before, in one of her junior classes, so Bella decided to use that as an escape goat. "Yes; I was in an advanced placement program in Phoenix," Bella explained.

"I see. Well, I guess it is good that you two are lab partners then." With that, Mr. Molina pivoted about and returned to his desk.

Left to her own device, Bella pulled her spiral free of her bag and began to doodle little flowers and bumble bees over the page. Maybe if she drew spring items, the universe would hear her prayer and speed up the end of winter.

"It's too bad about the snow," Edward finally stated, breaking the silence.

Glancing up from drawing a cartoon dragonfly hanging upside down from a flower, Bella shrugged. "Yeah," Bella replied, partially curious why Edward was clearly forcing himself to make small talk. It was almost as if the boy had overheard Jessica's remark about not liking anyone and wanted to prove her wrong.

"You really don't like the cold, do you?"

"Or the wet," Bella added as a reminder.

"Forks must be a difficult place for you to live," Edward reasoned.

"It has its perks," Bella admitted. She could use the woods to run and hunt, even during the day. Now, if only the rain and snow would go away.

That seemed to intrigue Edward. Watching as the boy's face lit up in fascination at her remark, Bella returned her eyes to the fat baby dragon she was now sketching upon the page. If the dragonfly could watch the bees, then why not have something watch the dragonfly?

"Is that why you decided to live with your father?" Edward finally inquired again.

"What?" Bella blinked, forgetting her earlier comment to Edward.

"You said you moved here to live with your father. Are those perks why you moved?"

"Um, no?" Bella responded. "Not originally."

"Then…why did you move?" Edward inquired, pressing once more for an answer Bella didn't want to give.

"Look, Renee remarried. I wanted her to live a normal life, without a kid around, so I came to live with my dad. End of story," Bella stated as the bell rang.

Grabbing her spiral, she flipped it closed with one hand, and grabbing her bag with the other, headed for the door.

"Wait," Edward called a moment later, catching up to her as she made her way to her locker.

Blinking in surprise that he had followed her, Bella arched an eyebrow, never slowing her pace.

"I don't get it," Edward finally added as they walked for a few more paces in silence.

"Get what? There's nothing to get," Bella responded, her voice slightly guarded as the boy continued to pry.

"What do you mean a normal life?" Edward asked as he side stepped a few students.

"Does it matter?" Bella asked in turn, her defenses rising.

"No, yes. I don't know. I just don't get you," Edward huffed and with that, left Bella standing alone at her locker.

Tilting her head in confusion, Bella jumped as Mike set a hand on her shoulder. "That was awful," Mike chirped.

"What was?" Bella inquired, shrugging the boy's sweaty hand off her shoulder, still slightly irked with how Edward had pried into her personal space.

"The lab. They all looked the same," Mike groaned as he turned to lean against the lockers. "You're lucky, though. You had Cullen for a partner."

"Jealous?" Bella smirked at the boy's blush. "Don't worry; I had no issue with the assignment."

"Really? So, can we swap partners? You can come help me out?" Mike asked, desperation clear in his voice.

"Um. No." For as much as she didn't care to have Edward as a partner, at least he kept his hands to himself.

Ignoring his pout, Bella shooed Mike off to class and headed towards the door. She was ready to go home.


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N:** Hey y'all. I realize that it's been a bit, but I was a bit stumped on how to proceed with this story. I realized I needed to go back and edit this chapter for multiple reasons. So, here we are. It is still a Bella x Esme x Victoria pairing.

* * *

 **Ch. 8**

This morning was different.

Instead of being greeted by a thick fog, which normally decided to veil her bedroom window in the morning of late, Bella opened her eyes to see a fine layer of snow. Packed into the window ledge and etched up along the side, the white coating glistened in the early morning sun.

Rubbing the sleep out of her eyes, Bella's limp frame rolled over the edge of the bed to land in a haphazard, erect position. After another moment, exhausted legs pushed against the floor, forcing Bella to rise from her sitting position before carrying herself the few steps to the window to confirm her suspicions.

Sure enough, there was snow in the yard, dusting on the top of her truck, and what was worse – a whitened road.

Grimacing as she realized that the rain from the night before had frozen as well, Bella let out a groan as she rubbed one hand over her forehead and across her cheek. _Fantastic._ She didn't have much experience with residing in a winter wonderland, but Bella remembered from her holiday visits that there was often black ice hiding beneath the friendly, fresh powder.

Glaring at the intricate coating on the tree needles outside her window, Bella pulled her blinds shut on the gorgeous patterns and eyed her bed wantonly. It would be safer, for her and the world, if she just returned to bed.

It wasn't that she was afraid of slipping on the ice. The other day had been an off occurrence; only happening because Charlie had been watching. No, what she was afraid of was driving Ol' Red on the sleek streets. Despite the new tires her dad had put on, the truck was still iffy on some of the back roads. Add ice to the concoction? Bella knew she would be in for a fun day.

Realizing that she couldn't go back to bed simply because of some snow, unless she planned on skipping every snowy day from now until graduation, Bella forced herself to walk past the tantalizing furniture and head into the bathroom.

By the time she was showered, dressed, and ready to go, Charlie was gone. Grabbing a bowl, Bella filled it with cereal and milk before sitting at the table to eat in silence the house provided.

In a way, Bella felt more like she was Charlie's roommate than a daughter with his erratic work schedule. It was different, she had to admit. Living with Renee had consisted of non-stop girl time. Not that it was her choice. On the contrary, she just couldn't get away from the woman. If it wasn't one thing, it was another – Renee was hungry and she wanted Bella to make her food; she was bored and wanted Bella to play a game with her; the storm scared her, so she wanted to bunk with Bella. The list went on and on.

The freedom here was almost too much though. She didn't want someone who hovered over her constantly and demanded twenty-four hour care, but she wouldn't mind someone's company on occasion. What she wanted was someone to talk with about things that actually interested her. Renee had been horrid to the point of useless; unless it was about her, Renee made it evident that she didn't want to hear about it.

Stirring the spoon in the milk, Bella sighed. Why couldn't she just live with someone who could respect her space when she needed the distance, yet actually be around when she wanted them? It wasn't that difficult.

Then again…

As her mind recalled those which she had met so far in Forks, Bella was beginning to think it was that difficult.

With the boys fawning over her at school, Bella felt more like a new toy, a novelty if you would, than a person. Between Mike's puppy dog behavior and Eric's apparent rivalry with Mike, Bella was a bit more disconcerted than flattered. Even the women were off putting between their questions and jealousy. In the end, Bella almost appreciated the solitary confinement she experienced with Charlie, especially after Edward's inquisitive behavior the day before.

That boy nearly gave her whiplash by the time he stormed off. Instead of feeling as if the boy was socializing with her, Bella had felt like she was on trial. Despite the obvious hints that she wasn't interested in sharing details about herself, he continued to pry for more information. Furthermore, his mood swings were a bit sketchy as they ranged from hostility to curiosity and back to frustrated insecurity.

If her options were going to range from infatuation to pride, jealousy, and hostility, Bella would rather be alone.

Rinsing her bowl, Bella placed it on the rack to dry before fetching her coat and bag. Making sure everything was shut off, Bella closed the door and headed to school.

It took a lot more concentration than she anticipated making it down the icy road. Walking on it was one thing, driving a large clunky truck was another.

By the time Bella pulled into the school parking lot, a majority of the students had arrived and were lingering about their vehicles. Deciding not to press her luck, Bella opted to park near the back for once and slipped into the snow covered parking spot. Releasing a breath she hadn't realized she was holding, Bella slouched into her seat.

 _Hard part is done, now for the easy part – Classes._ Grabbing her bag, Bella slid out of the cab.

Checking to make sure she actually parked in the lines, Bella's ears suddenly flicked backwards as a high-pitched screech ripped through the parking lot. Covering her ears as the sound increased in intensity, Bella glanced over her shoulder.

It was then that she saw several events take place simultaneously – The Cullens standing a handful of cars down from her, staring in utter horror; a sea of faces, all frozen in shock as they watched the events unfold before their very eyes; and most importantly, a van spinning in circles. It was the look of terror on Tyler's face, however, that caught and held Bella's attention. His van had lost control on a patch of ice and was currently skidding across the parking lot, directly at her.

Nothing was moving in slow motion, the way it does in the movies. Instead, the adrenaline rush allowed Bella to process each factor individually and rapidly. Absorbing the detail in clarity, Bella allowed instinct to take over as she watched Tyler move to the far side of the vehicle. There was nothing she could do for the boy. The last thing she saw, as she dropped and rolled beneath her truck, was Tyler shielding his face for the inevitable crash.

Sure enough, the blue van hit the corner of Ol' Red only to continue spinning wildly as it smashed moments later against her driver's door. Instead of squealing breaks, Bella heard the crunch of metal and the popping of glass before it fell onto the asphalt below, right where she had been standing just seconds before.

Under different circumstances, Bella would have easily jumped out of the way or even stopped the moving projectile, but there were too many witnesses for her to escape unnoticed and too many for her to save Tyler. Instead, Bella had relied on Ol' Red's to take the majority of the impact and hid beneath the massive steel frame, all the while hoping that Tyler would not be too injured inside his vehicle.

Seconds passed in silence as the entire student body stared on in absolute horror. Before long, however, chaos erupted as a mass of screaming and barked orders filled the air.

In the abrupt bedlam, Bella laid where she was as she listened to multiple people shouting her name. She should move, let them know that she was okay, but for the moment she just wanted the darkness. She hadn't hit her head, and nothing was broken. No, the only thought that was going through her mind was that she should have stayed in bed.

Shifting as she heard the clamor of boots quickly approaching and the voices raise in pitch, Bella rolled over to climb out the other side of the truck. It was then that she realized she couldn't get out. The truck had been rammed against the curb. Sighing in frustration, Bella turned around and flopped back down in the snow, her tail flicking in irritation as the cold slowly penetrated her damp clothes.

Blinking once, and then twice, Bella realized that she had a tail. Before she could do anything about it, a crowd of people, with tears streaming down their faces, appeared beside the truck.

"Bella!"

"Bella!"

Everyone was shouting; shouting at her, at each other. The noise was deafening in their panic.

"Oh my god, Bella!"

Sighing, Bella closed her eyes. Of course Jessica would be there.

"Are you okay?!" Angela called immediately afterwards.

"I'm okay. I'm stuck under the truck," Bella lied, finally replying to the distraught tones. "Give me a second."

"Don't move!" Someone instructed.

"We called the ambulance!"

Rolling her eyes, Bella ignored the onslaught of other questions directed at her, along with uncoordinated directions to get Tyler out of the van as she closed her mind to the commotion surrounding her. Focusing on her tail, and apparently the ears, which had sprouted during the blood racing events before, Bella forced herself back to normal. Performing a final inspection of her personal, Bella wiggled her way out from beneath the front of the truck; the back having been blocked by a small, tan car.

"Bella! We said don't move!" Jessica scolded before dropping down to make sure Bella was okay.

"I'm fine, Jess," Bella grumbled as she brushed the girl's hands away. She just wanted to get off the wet ground. It was cold and she was wet.

"You shouldn't move after going through such an event."

Turning at the melodic voice, Bella arched an eyebrow as she eyed Edward for a moment. "And what was I supposed to do? Play dead until someone could move the van and then my truck?" Bella retorted, in no mood to deal with his judgmental stare.

Instead of replying, Edward turned and walked away, but not before Bella could see his nostrils flare and eyes darken.

Before Bella could dwell over what the boy's problem was, someone grabbed her hand.

"Bella, you're bleeding!" Angela pointed out.

Glancing down at her palm, Bella saw a small cut, with fresh blood trickling down her skin. Figuring it must have happened when she crawled across the broken glass, Bella simply wiped her palm on her jeans. "I'm fine. Can I go to class now?"

"No, you need to sit and wait for the ambulance."

"I'm fine," Bella repeated. "I don't need an ambulance."

No matter what she tried, who she talked to, or what she said no one would listen. In the end, Bella was whisked away to the hospital with Tyler in tow.

* * *

"Bells!"

Glancing up as the door burst open to emit her father, his face drained of color, Bella smiled softly from the medical bed.

"Hey, dad."

"Are you alright!?" Charlie demanded as he inspected Bella, going as far as touching her cheek to make sure she was actually there and in one piece.

"Dad, I'm fine. Calm down," Bella reassured her father while catching his hands in hers. "Really, I'm fine."

"Pardon me, Bella?"

Bella and Charlie turned at the voice.

"Dr. Cullen?" Charlie blinked in surprise.

"Please, call me Carlisle," Carlisle smiled. "I came by to check on Bella."

Blinking in surprise herself, Bella studied the man before her. Calm, golden eyes matched his sun-kissed hair, making him look almost like an angel in the white lab coat. Based off the same pale skin, dark rings, and chiseled features, if Bella had to guess, this was indeed Edward's adopted father.

"Are you sure Bella's alright?" Charlie inquired, ignoring Bella as she repeated her earlier response.

"I believe she will be just fine, Sheriff. Although your daughter refused any blood work and the x-ray, it appears she walked away in one piece," Dr. Carlisle replied.

"She did?" Charlie turned to Bella in surprise at her turning away the medical screening. "You did? Why?"

"I don't like machines or needles," Bella reminded Charlie. "I feel fine. Please don't make me take the tests," Bella begged.

Ever since her change, Bella had been afraid of going to the doctor's, and for good reason. It wasn't that she was afraid of doctors, the shots, or even the hospitals themselves, she was afraid of being discovered. She didn't need someone getting a solid glimpse of her blood work and sending her off to a lab somewhere in the middle of nowhere to run tests on her DNA. Furthermore, she did not need them getting a look at her bone structure and questioning its density compared to a normal human.

Thankfully, with her enhanced immune system, Bella never had a cause to go to the doctors, and to make things better, her mother had left the required documents for Renee to use when those times appeared necessary. Never having a kid, and horrible about her own appointments, Renee just accepted the documents without question.

Chewing on his lower lip, Charlie finally glanced at Dr. Cullen. "Does she need them?"

"Bella went through a rather traumatic event. Because of such, as a doctor, I highly recommend her having an x-ray, at the very least," Carlisle replied professionally. "However," he continued when Bella was about to argue again, "if Bella is okay with us simply monitoring her for the remainder of the day, then I'll forgo the tests."

"Are you sure she doesn't need them?" Charlie debated, concern lacing his voice.

"I'm sure Bella will be fine, Charlie," Carlisle smiled softly. "Bella walked away with only a couple of scratches; I'm presuming they were from the shattered glass."

Sensing Charlie's hesitation, Carlisle rested a cold hand upon the man's jacket-covered arm. "Your daughter is quite the trooper," Carlisle remarked to Charlie. "And rather skilled, I hear, in being able to slip upon a patch of ice just in the nick of time to avoid the collision."

Squirming as Dr. Cullen stared at her when he spoke that last bit, Bella picked at the blanket covering her lap. She didn't like how the man appeared to stare right through her, as if trying to unravel her secrets.

Sensing Bella's discomfort, Carlisle broke the tension with his next offer. "Why don't I leave the two of you to talk and I'll be back in a bit to check on Bella?"

Without waiting for a response, Carlisle pulled the wooden door shut and continued his rounds.

"Are you sure you're okay? Does your head hurt?" Charlie question again as soon as the door closed.

"Dad, I'm fine," Bella smiled. She couldn't be upset by his continuous questioning, on the contrary, she felt rather bad for feeling lonely this morning at breakfast. When it really mattered, Charlie was always there for her.

"I'm glad you're okay, but that boy – What's his name? Taylor?-"

"Tyler," Bella corrected automatically.

"-He sure as hell is not okay," Charlie decreed, his face contorting, causing his mustache to crinkle.

"Dad, it wasn't his fault," Bella argued.

"We nearly lost you!" Charlie cut Bella off.

Sighing, Bella shifted to swing her legs over the edge of the bed. Sitting awkwardly, she pulled Charlie into an unexpected hug. "But you didn't, dad."

Stiffening at the initial contact, Charlie awkwardly returned the hug. "He can still kiss his license goodbye," Charlie grumbled after a huff, causing Bella to chuckle.

* * *

"I heard the police of chief's daughter was in here."

Blinking in surprise at the sound of the familiar voice, Bella glanced up from the book she was reading. There, in the hospital room doorway stood Esme.

"Did you now?" Bella inquired, smiling despite herself.

"Mhmm," Esme replied, returning the smile.

The pair sat, or stood, there staring at each other for a moment before Bella finally averted her chocolate orbs. "So, what brings you by?"

"Well, when I heard about the car accident and that you would be staying the day, I figured I would stop in to see how you were doing," Esme answered. "Perhaps even offer you some non-hospital food, if you'd be interested," Esme stated, lifting her hand as evidence to reveal a decent sized wicker basket.

About to decline the generous offer, Bella hesitated.

After a thorough inspection of her injuries, followed up by a discussion with Tyler, Charlie disappeared to fetch Bella's truck from school. Since then, Bella had been greeted by what felt like half the student population. Word had spread quicker than Bella originally anticipated, especially since the town was deeming the incident to be a _miraculous escape_ ; apparently it was not everyday that someone avoided a mass collision like she did. As a result, every visitor remarked, in one fashion or another, about how lucky Bella was to be such a klutz. By the third visitor, all hope that the matter would be quickly forgotten had been whisked away as the visitors amplified the situation with inquiries and pseudo concern.

As a result, Bella was tired of people talking about her. Granted, she had braced herself to deal with being a novelty that tagged along with being the new girl, but that was it. She did not need this new disaster to extend the duration of attention the town graced her with. All Bella wanted was to remain in the shadows. She would extend her social life to encompass a few acquaintances, each of which could be acquired and ditched at school. This would enable Bella to stay out of the "recluse" column while simultaneously refrain partaking in certain social etiquettes, such as inviting any Forks' resident into her personal affairs.

As far as Bella could determine, this set up resulted in a win-win situation. She would play nice with the kids while keeping them at bay. Her plan had worked in Phoenix, but by the looks of things, they were going to backfire in this small down. More than likely, Bella would have to continue playing the school klutz for the remainder of her duration in order to refrain from answering any unwanted questions regarding her agility and grace. However, despite the behaviors of her prior visitors, her lack of desire for further company, and her growing list of restrictions, Bella could only smile.

The concern and care emitting from the woman standing before her made it all worth it, oddly enough. _Yes, definitely worth it,_ Bella decided as she continued to stare at the lunch in the brunette's hand. Esme's response and unspoken question forgotten, Bella refrained from salivating as her stomach grumbled eagerly in response.

"So…may I come in?" Esme prompted, her eyebrow quirking in humor upon catching the sound of hunger.

"Oh, yes," Bella blushed, both due to her prolonged silence and her stomach. "Yes, make yourself at..." Bella glanced at the surroundings of the hospital room as she finished her invitation, "…home." Beside the bed she was currently sitting in, there was not much more beyond a single visitor chair, a muted TV, some portrait of a 'calming landscape', and the bathroom in the corner.

"Why thank you, and I shall." With that, Esme crossed the room and set the food on the only empty chair. In contrast to the customary small container or even a lunch pail, Esme had brought a large picnic basket that appeared to be full to the brim.

Under different circumstances, Bella could imagine that they were going on a picnic rather than sitting in the hospital. _If only there was a red and white checkered blanket, and perhaps a field of wild flowers, rather than the disgusting smell of sterile, white walls and the continuous beeping of unnecessary monitors,_ Bella mused before shaking such silly thoughts from her mind.

"You know, with how often I'm up here, I should just rent a room," Esme joked as she began pulling items out of the basket, oblivious to Bella's daydreaming. "Then again, this place doesn't offer much in the sense of comfort," she added her face scrunching in distaste at the lack of decorations.

Tilting her head in confusion by Esme's remark, Bella suddenly frowned as the remark clicked into place. Esme's husband was Bella's doctor. Connecting the pieces together, Bella realized how Esme probably discovered that she was in the hospital. The circumstances made sense, but the realization still caused Bella to sigh as she glanced at the pile of food.

made sense that Esme had probably heard about her incident from Dr. Cullen while visiting him. The realization caused Bella to sigh as she glanced at the pile of food.

 _That lunch was probably for Carlisle originally_ , Bella bemoaned. Having brought the food up for him to enjoy, Bella assumed that Esme had heard about the incident from Dr. Cullen during the visit.

 _Esme probably brings Carlisle picnics to enjoy in his office…or wherever else they like to go in this blood building._ Not understanding why that notion bothered her so much, Bella hunkered into the pillows as her imagination began to run amuck, imagining the two enjoying what should have been a picnic between Esme and her.

 _And why wouldn't Esme prefer to have lunch with someone like Dr. Cullen?_ Bella fumed. _I'm just a mutant freak and he's supposedly one of the top doctors in the nation._ No longer hungry Bella sunk further into her pillows as her mind began to curse her situation. Not only was she held hostage in a stupid hospital as a result of an idiotic car crash but now she was upset about overly caring, stupid, blond doctors.

Noticing Bella's sudden shift in mood and posture, Esme chuckled as she guessed at what suddenly brought about the dark cloud. "Don't worry, dear. I didn't bring this food for Carlisle, if that's what you're thinking. This trip is special and just for you."

"Really?" Despite her best efforts, Bella's ears perked at the remark, her brooding mood disappearing as quickly as it hit.

"Really," Esme confirmed. "Actually, I never bring him food," Esme added as an afterthought as she finished pulling the last array of containers out of the basket.

"Why not?" Bella inquired. For as much as she didn't care to know more about Esme's love life with Carlisle, the information oddly enough made her feel much better.

"He doesn't like to eat while at work," Esme explained, "so it would simply be a waste. Conflict of interest for his appetite, or something like that," Esme shrugged as if not understanding the man. "Anyways," Esme brushed the matter aside. "Everything here was made especially for you. I was uncertain about what you preferred or would be interested in, so I packed a bit of everything. What would you like?"

Despite the fact that Bella had been watching Esme the entire time she unpacked the containers, it suddenly dawned on the girl how much food the woman had actually managed to stuff into the wicker basket. As a result, Bella could only stare in awe for a moment. "Um…What are my options?" Bella finally inquired as Esme took it upon herself to perch on the foot of Bella's bed.

"Well, there're sandwiches. More specifically, turkey and Swiss on rye; ham and cheddar toasted on a croissant; or egg salad," Esme stated, before indicating towards the next set of containers. "There is also diced fruit, a garden salad, and four different dressings to decide from. I wasn't sure what you would like so I packed Caesar, ranch, vinaigrette, and Italian," Esme explained. "Now, if you're in more of a salty mood, there are Lay's or Doritos."

"And in there," Bella inquired as she noticed a thermos sitting off to the side.

Smiling, Esme hoisted the container. "I made homemade chicken noodle soup, which comes with saltines and a cold ginger ale. I was uncertain if the doctors would prescribe medications and wanted to include something light to help counter any bouts of nausea," Esme reasoned as she set the thermos back down while waiting for a response.

When Bella remained quiet, Esme shifted awkwardly on the bed. "I can get you something else," Esme finally offered, uncertainty lacing her voice.

"Esme," Bella croaked as she continued to gawk at the vast amount of options, "there's enough food to feed an army." Well, for normal humans. With Bella's appetite she knew that she could eat everything there and be rather content at the end. How could Esme even begin to believe that she would want something else when nearly everything Bella desired at that precise moment had been stuffed into the woman's Mary Poppins' bag of a basket?

Rubbing the back of her neck, Esme glanced away.

 _It's as if she's bashful for packing so_ much, Bella thought in awe before realizing the error of her comment. Although she had meant the remark to reassure the woman that she needed nothing else, Bella realized belatedly that Esme had not been privy to her thoughts. In an effort to rectify her remark, Bella rested a hand upon Esme's, only to flinch at the drastic temperature difference. Ignoring the cold, Bella patted the woman's hand twice before allowing her hand to cover Esme's. "This is perfect, thank you," Bella smiled, hoping that Esme didn't notice her initial reaction.

Esme had noticed, however. Rather than pull away as she would normally do when another tried to touch her, Esme smiled softly as she refrained from moving her hand. She rather enjoyed the warmth radiating from the younger girl's palm into her own hand. "You're sure?" Esme inquired again after a moment of hesitation.

"This is perfect," Bella repeated as amber orbs locked with brown. "Thank you."

"You're welcome, dear," Esme replied softly.

Sitting in silence for another few moments, Bella continued to hold Esme's gaze until finally recalling that she was still touching Esme's hand. Clearing her throat, Bella pulled away as she scooted back on the bed to sit up a bit straighter.

"So…"

"Right," Esme mumbled almost sadly in response. Tucking a strand of honey brown locks behind one ear, Esme turned back to the food to hide her disappointment at the increased space increased between them before smiling once more at Bella. "So, what would you like?"

Glancing back at her options, Bella quickly opted for the soup along with the turkey and Swiss sandwich.

It was cold in the hospital, as Esme's hands had clearly shown. Perhaps consuming a hot meal would warm them both up. However, as Bella began to dig in, she noticed that Esme remained sitting without out food. Brows furrowing in confusion, Bella set the sandwich down on the paper plate. "Not hungry?" Bella inquired.

Hesitating as she played with the lid of one of the containers, Esme finally shook her head. "No, it's not that. I had an early lunch date," Esme replied. "But, please, do help yourself to anything else you might like," Esme reassured as Bella began to frown.

"But-"

"Please?" Esme interjected. "I wanted to make sure you were well fed since I can't do much more to help while you're in here," Esme admitted. "That's why I brought you the food."

Her frown growing, Bella left her food where it was even as she felt her heart clench at the confession. "Are you sure?" The food was delicious and she was hungry, but Bella felt odd and rude eating in front of Esme as she simply looked on.

"Oh, yes. Absolutely," Esme smiled, patting Bella's hand. "Please, it would make me happy to know you're eating and feeling well," Esme added after Bella continued to sit there in doubt.

Torn between whether to be upset by the fact that Esme had gone so much out of her way or the slight flutter she felt in the pit of her stomach at the thought that Esme had done all of this for her, Bella decided to change the topic just slightly instead of replying. "Well, will you at least keep me company?"

"Of course," Esme agreed before smiling in relief as Bella picked the sandwich back up. "Besides, we don't need you getting into anymore predicaments today," Esme teased.

"You too?" Bella blanched at the jibe, her food frozen in front of her mouth. She figured the rest of the town would remark about the incident, but she had hoped to escape for a few minutes with Esme.

"I'm afraid so. It was all everyone was talking about at the market – don't fret," Esme consoled, misinterpreting Bella's sour expression. "It's a small town. The news will blow over soon."

"I suppose," Bella muttered, her thoughts returning to earlier.

Not liking the dark expression, Esme decided to distract Bella with a story about her childhood.

"You know, when I was a little girl I grew up on a farm. I was always up to no good, which often got me into a bit of trouble. Around the age of 16, I fell out of a tree and broke my leg. It was a small town we lived in, smaller than this, and that's all everyone would talk about when they saw me until the cast was removed."

Unable to help the smile that tugged at her lips, Bella eyed Esme appreciatively, especially when noting the mischievous glint to the woman's golden hues. "Thanks," Bella murmured before biting the sandwich. She didn't like people talking about her, but oddly enough, she was okay with Esme picking on her. More so, Bella was quickly discovered that she didn't like it when people talked about Esme either. Regrettably, there was nothing she could do about it at the moment.

"You're welcome, dear," Esme smiled as she settled back. Typically Esme hated recalling her past, but she couldn't help but want to share with the girl before her. "The leftovers are for your dinner, so please do take them home so you don't have to worry about cooking later when you're free to leave. In the meantime, would you care for a drink?"

"Yes, please."

And with that, the two fell into a comfortable and relaxed conversation as Bella consumed her lunch.


	9. Chapter 9

**A/N:** Howdy to the far reaches of the seven seas! Alrighty, just so my lovely readers are aware of - I have gone back and edited Ch. 8. I was dissatisfied with how it ended; just felt rush, ya know? Anyways, I was having issues moving forward, so I went back and tweaked the ending in order to make it flow a bit better for future chapters. May or may not want to go back and read up on that. Up to you. Else wise, enjoy and happy holidays!

* * *

 **Ch. 9**

The time spent with Esme had been short lived in Bella's opinion. Despite the fact that the two sat conversing for well over two hours, Bella was not ready for their conversation to end when Esme finally announced that she should be on her way. Shortly thereafter, Charlie came knocking on the door, asking if Bella was ready to head home. Distracted by her thoughts of Esme, Bella agreed and gathered her belongings and followed her father to the car.

During the drive, Bella decided that the day was well spent. Granted, it had started out miserable with the snow, turning to embarrassing as she had been whisked away by the ambulance, and ending in frustration when she discovered that she was to be held captive. However, it was all worth it. At least, that was Bella's opinion until stepping through the threshold.

Still anxious about Bella's health, Charlie hovered over Bella for the first few hours. Between continuously asking if she was feeling alright to wanting to know if she needed anything, Bella finally had enough. Lying that she was tired, Bella excused herself and turned in early.

Surprisingly enough, Bella fell asleep rather quickly only to be greeted by a rather odd dream.

At first it was very dark, and what dim light there was seemed to be radiating from an unknown source. As the light grew brighter, however, the dream revealed that Bella was swimming. With her white skin aglow, her hair floated weightlessly around her. Void of gravity, she drifted sensually within the dry liquid, her clothes swaying about her form as if a breeze, not water, toyed with the hems. Before long the light solidified into the shape of a person. As the water disappeared, Bella was left standing in the middle of the forest.

Although Bella was unable to distinguish any features besides the fact that the figure was a female, Bella attempted to move closer. But with each step, the woman moved further away, leaving Bella in darkness once more. Without a name to call out, Bella shouted out loud for the person to stop. The dim light returned, flickering softly in time to the woman's movements as if the source radiated from the person's skin. Entranced, Bella tried to move forward again, this time the woman hesitated. Curious about whom the woman was, Bella raised a hand, but as she does the woman turned and ran once more, but not before Bella caught sight of bloody, crimson orbs. Their color vivid in contrast to the dark, Bella chased after the woman. Finally catching up to her, Bella grabbed hold of the woman's arm and spun her about, needing to verify what she had just seen. However, the eyes are no longer red. Rather, Bella stared into the depths of glowing, golden hues.

About to speak, the woman vanished from her grasp causing Bella to be thrusted back into the realm of consciousness.

Troubled by her dreams Bella sighed while brown eyes scanned the room out of habit. Not expecting anything to be out of place, and her senses still off kilter due to her dream, Bella was startled to clearly see a woman with flaming red hair standing at the foot of her bed. Unnerved by the thought that she was still dreaming, Bella snapped on the light for a second look.

Finding herself to be alone in the room, Bella rubbed her eyes in frustration. Despite the empty room, Bella could have sworn to the high heavens that what, or who, she saw had been real. Even with being thrown off by just waking up, Bella was able to see in the darkness; it was one of the perks of being a werecat. But, why would anyone be in her room? How did they get in? At any other time, Bella would have chased the phantom down. However, as thoughts of two sets of glowing eyes returned, the girl hesitated.

Did she really see the angel with red hair or was it just left over from her dream?

Although she knew the figure had been blurred, she could have sworn the second woman had been Esme. The light amber hues could belong to almost no one else. As for the red eyes, Bella was uncertain. Why would Esme have red eyes? Contemplating the dream, Bella's mind drifted back to the encounter in the woods and now to who she had assumed to be in her room. Maybe her subconscious wasn't picturing Esme in a different light, but was recalling another person all together. After all, it wasn't the first time she had dreamt of her.

Sighing, Bella allowed her head to roll to the side in order to glance at the clock. Realizing that she would not be able to get back to sleep, and even if she could manage to, the alarm would be going off in another twenty minutes, Bella decided to not even bother. With another groan, Bella slid out of bed and shuffled her way to the closet to get ready for the morning.

* * *

"Bells?"

"Hey dad," Bella greeted from the table as Charlie came into the kitchen.

"Why are you up?"

"Uh." Glancing at her father then at the clock above the window then back at her father, Bella shrugged as if the answer was obvious. "For school?"

"No. I told you last night that I want you to stay home today."

"Dad, I'm fine, really," Bella argued, their retorts bordering a mirror image of last night's argument.

Bella had finally caught up with her school work and didn't want more to be added on with yesterday's events and staying home today. Similarly, Bella knew that she would be the center of attention for the rest of the week. If she was to stay home today, it would portray that the accident had been more than it appeared and people were bound to hype the situation up even more. Ultimately, Bella rather preferred going to school in order to avoid having an uneasy, tense, and rather embarrassing remainder of the semester due to one incident.

"No, and that's final. Unless you want to go back and get those tests," Charlie countered.

Huffing in defeat, Bella shook her head. "I'll stay home." Bella grumbled.

"Bella," Charlie spoke softly a moment later.

Grunting in reply, Bella focused on swirling her Lucky Charms in her bowl.

Sighing, Charlie sat down at the table and took his daughter's hand in his. "Bella," he tried again.

Finally looking up, Bella noted the concern in his face.

"What happened yesterday scared me. I wasn't there to help you, and although nothing is wrong from what we can tell, please just do this for me?" Charlie nearly pleaded.

Uncharacteristically vulnerable, Bella felt uncomfortable seeing her father in such a fashion. "Fine," Bella sighed in consent, "but only for one day."

"Maybe two," Charlie pushed as he rose to grab a cup of coffee.

Shaking her head, Bella resumed eating. She loved her father, but what had happened to the aloof bachelor weeks before? Contemplating which she preferred more, Bella decided that it felt rather nice knowing that he cared so much about her well-being.

If it would make Charlie feel better, she would stay home. Besides, there was nothing wrong with getting to nap all day after not being able to sleep last night.

"Oh, and Bella?" Charlie spoke moments later, interrupting Bella's plans of sleeping the day away.

"Yeah?"

"Call Renee." With that, Charlie quickly escaped before Bella could utter a word.

Groaning in frustration, Bella clenched her hair in her hands as either elbow came to rest upon the table. Why did Charlie have to go and tell Renee about what happened? Cradling her head in her hands, Bella sighed and let her eyes close as the front door latched shut with a soft click. Now she'd never get any peace of mind.

* * *

"Yes. Okay. I know. Okay. Bye Renee. Renee, I'm fine. Yes, no, okay, fine. FINE! Okay. Bye." Hanging up the phone after spending nearly an hour reassuring the erratic woman that she was alive and kicking, Bella collapsed onto her bed.

Why did Charlie have to call Renee? Sure, she got into an accident, but nothing happened.

Bella had just spent the last hour on the phone calming the frantic woman. That hadn't been the bad part; it was when Renee began threatening to hop on a plane and come see her right then and there that the conversation turned bad. Bella knew it wouldn't happen, but just the thought alone caused Bella to panic. It wasn't that she didn't want to see Renee. It was more along the lines that Bella knew that if the woman did show up, she would have to take care of Renee, rather than the other way around. And right now, all Bella wanted to do was sleep.

Pulling a pillow over her eyes, Bella sighed in content as the room went dark.

About to drift off, Bella groaned again as the doorbell rang. Debating on playing dead until the visitor left or answering the door, Bella finally hefted herself up and stomped loudly down the stairs as the doorbell rang again a few moments later. Yanking the door open, Bella stopped in surprise as she came face to face with Esme. "Oh."

"Hi," Esme smiled before an eyebrow quirked in response to Bella's disheveled state. Trailing golden eyes up the length of long, pale legs, Esme took note of the short running shorts, the crinkled, baggy t-shirt and a mess of tangled brown locks. "Did I wake you?"

It was almost noon; the woman had to know she didn't wake her. Unable to be grumpy with the woman's smile, Bella shook her head. "No, just got off the phone with Renee about the events that happened yesterday."

"Your mom?"

"Aunt, technically, but you could say mom in a sense."

"Ah, I see. Didn't go so well?"

"You could say that as well," Bella smiled sarcastically. "Anyways, there was nothing for her to worry about."

Reaching up to tuck a loose strand of hair behind Bella's ear, Esme smiled softly. "I wouldn't say for naught. You're a very special woman who is very cared for and yesterday gave us all a scare."

Feeling heat rise up the back of her neck to her ears, Bella shifted self-consciously as she refrained her true ears from eagerly sprouting at the unexpected contact. Deciding that she better change topics, before a tail appeared as well and tried to wag indignantly in delight, Bella cleared her throat. "So…How did you know I was here?"

"Well, the kids said you weren't at school. Concerned, I called your father to see if everything was okay, and he told me that you had stayed home," Esme admitted a bit sheepishly.

Blinking momentarily, Bella's head tilted to the side. _Why would her whereabouts matter to the Cullen children, and if Esme confirmed that she was okay with her father, why is she stopping by?_ Debating on which question to ask first, Bella's mouth opened without much consideration. "And why would your kids be keeping tabs on me?" Bella inquired of Esme. However, as brown eyes locked onto gold, Bella became partially distracted with the memory of her dream. As a result, Bella nearly missed the woman's reply.

"Carlisle asked them to keep an eye on you since you decided to opt out on the medical examination yesterday."

"I see." The answer was reasonable to Bella's distracted mind. She was honestly surprised that any doctor would let a teenager walk out with just a day of unobtrusive observation after what occurred in the parking lot. However, Bella did have her rights and as long as Charlie stood behind them, she was free to decline the tests.

"So, when they said I wasn't at school why did you called my father instead of Dr. Cullen?" Bella inquired next, her eyebrow quirking.

"Well, as I said, I was concerned," Esme restated. "I told Carlisle that I would check up on you since he's busy at work."

Typically Bella would be irked to know so many people were observing her. But when it came to Esme, Bella was actually flattered and felt a bit giddy to know that the woman cared about her health to go to such lengths.

"And you called my father instead of me because…?" Bella questioned, this time just being playful.

"Because someone, I won't say who, never gave me her number?" Esme countered, a small quirk tugging the corner of her lips.

"Ah, well…I can, um…yeah." Bella finally blushed as she misconstrued Esme's response.

Chuckling as Bella's confidence dwindled and disappeared in a matter of seconds, Esme gestured towards the door. "Perhaps I can come in while you write it down for me," Esme offered.

Finally realizing that their entire interaction had occurred on the porch instead of inside the house, Bella quickly back tracked her steps. As Esme passed by, Bella pushed the heavy oak door shut, trapping the heat back inside while discouraging the frosty wind's brave attempts to continue drifting in. "I'm sorry about that," Bella began to apologize.

Laughing quietly, Esme shushed Bella. "It's quite okay, dear. I don't mind the cold."

Deciding to improve on her manners, Bella offered to take Esme's coat. "May I get you something to drink?" Bella offered next as she hung the jacket up with the other winter coats on the wall mount. "Coffee? Tea?"

"I'm good, but thank you for the offer."

Nodding, Bella stood a bit awkwardly in the dimly lit hall as silence settled upon the pair. Once again, Bella was unable to stop her thoughts from comparing dream Esme to the woman in front of her as the soft light reflected off the woman's features. Brown eyes tracing the soft curve of the woman's jaw up to plump lips and a straight nose, Bella's eyes eventually came to rest upon a pair of bright, curious golden hues. However, before Bella could give a second thought to the woman, her brain jumped to the thought of the other set of eyes.

Her brows furrowing at the reminder of her dream, Bella glanced away. Foregoing the thoughts swarming in her head, Bella showed Esme to the kitchen. Fetching a pen and paper, Bella quickly scribbled her number down before handing it to Esme. "Well, here you are. Although, I guess you wouldn't need it now since you know I'm feeling better," Bella mused.

Before the girl could try taking the number back, Esme tucked the piece of paper into her pocket. "Nonsense. I will still need it for our future dates," Esme reasoned.

"D-dates?" Bella stuttered. When did she agree to a date, let alone plural?

"Yes," Esme smiled as if nothing was the matter. "To work on those do-it-yourself projects we were discussing yesterday." As an afterthought, Esme stepped closer. Closing the distance, she rested an icy hand on the girl's warm forehead. "Are you sure you didn't hit your head, dear?" Esme frowned.

Too distracted by their physical proximity, Bella was slow to respond. "I'm certain."

Her frown deepening, Esme's next question was cut off by Bella's offer.

"How about I give you a tour," Bella interjected. For as much as she was enjoying the sensations currently flowing through her, she needed an escape before something else escaped. Additionally, she didn't like how worried Esme was becoming for naught. "Since you came all the way out here?" Bella added quickly as a cover up.

Noticing a change of topic when it was so blatant, Esme refrained from huffing as she nodded. "I would love nothing more," Esme responded, her smile reappearing. And ultimately, she couldn't think of anything better to do at this particular moment.

"Well then, m'lady. If you will just follow me I will show you the wonders of the Swan residence." With a rather coordinated bow, Bella led a smiling woman on a tour of the house.

Beginning with the bottom half, the pair eventually wound their way upstairs. During the entire time, Bella pointed out the changes she had made so far and what tasks were left to accomplish within each room. For the most part, the ideas were rather simple. Bella did not want to put Charlie out too much financially or mentally with her alterations, especially since she would only be staying until the end of high school.

By the time they stopped at Bella's room, her confidence faltered. Besides her folks, no one else had ever entered her room. Yes, she had changed it from when she first lived here, but it was still her personal space. Hesitating, Bella eventually gestured to the room. "And here we are. My magical domain," Bella joked. There was no point in keeping Esme out, especially since the woman could already see a majority of her room due to the fact she had left the door open when going down the stairs.

"May I?" Esme inquired. Only after receiving a nod did the woman enter the room to take a look around.

Although Esme had admired the rest of the house, golden hues examined this particular room with much more interest. Noticing the intensity in her gaze, Bella squirmed self-consciously near the doorway. _Why am I so nervous about what someone thinks of my room?_ Bella huffed inside her head even as her toes scuffed along the floor.

"I love it."

Lost in her worries, Bella's ears pricked upon catching the words. _She loved it?_ Raising her head, Bella glanced at the woman before her. Studying the soft contours of the woman's features, from the kind eyes to the gentle smile, Bella couldn't help but think how radiant Esme appeared in the pale sunlight. It was almost as if she sparkled.

 _Sparkled?_ Brows furrowing in confusion, Bella rubbed at her eyes. When she looked again, the clouds had passed back over the window, dimming the light once more. _Maybe I did hit my head,_ Bella mused, slightly concerned. She knew her eyesight was better than a human's, but even she was apt to see things on occasion.

"You did a magnificent job with what limitations you were telling me about yesterday," Esme remarked, moving away from the window towards the cork board on the wall above Bella's desk.

"Thank you," Bella smiled as she rid her head of such silly notions. Esme couldn't have been sparkling, just like redheaded angels had not been in her room.

"Is this your mother?" Esme's gestured at a particular photo hanging upon the cork board amongst a colleague of others.

"Mhmm." Moving closer, Bella stood near Esme to study the photo. Bella didn't recall much of her mother and only had a handful of photos. But, what Bella did recall were mostly happy memories of the woman.

"She's beautiful, just like you," Esme remarked as she took in the long chestnut locks, brown eyes, and a smile that lit the entire frame as a tiny child clearly squirmed in her grasp trying to grab at a feather in the woman's hair.

Rubbing the back of her neck, Bella smiled bashfully. "She's much prettier than I'll ever be."

"I highly doubt that, Isabella."

Glancing up at the use of her full name, Bella shifted uncomfortably as she realized Esme had been studying her the entire time, rather than the picture. About to rebuttal against Esme's beliefs, Bella was suddenly startled as Esme's soft smile turned into a harsh glare.

The intensity of the woman's gaze worried Bella until she realized that Esme was not looking at her but rather staring out the window behind her shoulder. Turning, Bella glanced outside. Despite her keen eyesight, she saw nothing of interest beside the tree.

"Esme?" Bella questioned a bit hesitantly.

"Hm?"

"Are you okay?" Bella inquired.

"Oh, yes, dear. However, just realized what time it is. I do apologize, but I must be on my way." Quickly, Esme gathered her belongings. Distracted by the fact that she had just caught someone with flaming red hair and crimson orbs perching in the tree outside of Bella's window, Esme thought nothing of it as she placed a quick kiss upon Bella's cheek before disappearing down the stairs without further ado.

Baffled by Esme's complete change in behavior, Bella remained in the room with one hand on her cheek, oblivious to the fact that the woman saw herself out.


	10. Chapter 10

**A/N:** It's amazing what bribery will get you. In exchange for an update on another story, I pulled this one out of hiatus. Well, at least 'til class starts up in a week. I'll see what I can do about another chapter either here or on one of the others. Oh, and I went and tweaked the prior chapters. While reading back through WLAF I decided I wanted less Edward involvement and more Victoria. I'm still deciding on how to swing her coming into the story prior to the baseball scene, without her and Bella actually getting to know each other like Esme and her will. If y'all have suggestions, I'm open to them. Thus far I'm leaning toward them running into each other while Bella's in cat form or alone. Anyhoo, happy new years everyone.

* * *

 **Ch. 10**

Closing the door to Ol' Red, Bella sighed as brown eyes scouted the school's parking lot. Charlie had made Bella stay home another two days and only allowed her to leave as long as she promised to call if she needed anything. Without hesitation, Bella had promised. She felt fine, or fine enough, considering her dazed state of mind since Esme's departing kiss.

Raising a hand, Bella unconsciously touched her cheek once more, still certain that she could feel those cold, firm lips against her flesh. Shaking her head to clear her thoughts, Bella made her way to school, unable to disperse the faint blush adorning her cheeks.

To Bella's dismay, her earlier fears became reality as she found herself to be the center of attention for the entire day. Between the numerous amounts of concerns of her peers and teachers and Tyler's continuous, profound apologies, Bella was ready to call it quits and head home. The only thing stopping her was the knowledge that Charlie would turn into an even bigger protective hen. That was the last thing the brunette needed. Or so she thought until she heard her name called while in the hall.

"Hey Bella!"

Turning around, chocolate hues blinked once and then twice as Mike came trotting up to her, clearly out of breath.

"Yes?"

Standing up straight, Mike cleared his throat before rubbing at the back of his head, "Uh, hi. How are you're you? How're you feeling?" Mike blushed.

Tilting her head in confusion as to why her classmate had asked the same thing for the third time that day, Bella eventually shrugged. "Fine. Why?" Replying was easier at this point than trying to wrap her brain around Mike's thought process.

"Oh, just wanted to check," Mike mumbled before glancing around. As baby blue eyes landed on the backpack missing from Bella's shoulder, the boy suddenly brightened. "Heading to lunch?"

"Yeah…?" Bella replied once again, her brow quirking in question.

"Great! I'll walk you!" Mike beamed.

Shrugging her shoulders, Bella pivoted about and continued her way to the cafeteria, oblivious to Eric and Tyler coming crashing around the corner a moment later.

The walk was silent. On any other day, Bella might have questioned why the blonde boy was unusually quiet. With her thoughts distracted by two women, Bella just pushed the reasoning to the back of her mind. It was not until they came up to the double doors that Bella finally paid attention to Mike as he slowed his pace until coming to a complete stop. Turning about to ask if the lad was okay, Bella's brow bunched in concern as she was forced to address her classmate's bizarre behavior.

"So, Jessica asked me to the spring dance," Mike mumbled after a moment while stuffing his hands into his pockets.

Blinking her eyes in surprise, Bella's mind scrambled to connect the pieces. Why did that information concern her, and more so why did Mike look so guilty, sad, and hopeful at the same time? Finally the statement made sense as Bella remembered overhearing Angela and Jessica talking the week prior about the upcoming dance. Bella had forgotten that there was a girls' choice spring dance taking place in another week or two.

"And?" Bella supplied when Mike fell quiet.

"Well," Mike floundered before answering honestly, "I told her I had to think about it."

"What is there to consider?" Bella tilted her head. "I thought you liked her." She tried hard not to let disapproval lace her tone, but Bella really did not want the boy thinking he had a chance with her. She had thought she was obvious about her stance since the first day. Besides, keeping one person waiting for an answer while seeking out another was rather inconsiderate.

"I do," Mike admitted. "But, I was wondering if...well, if you might be planning to ask me." At this point, Mike's face was bright red as he stared at his shoes.

Biting back a sigh, Bella resisted the urge to verbally lay the man out flat for his skills in being oblivious. She already had to put up the act of being clumsy for the remainder of her school term, she really did not want to fake anything else. Before she opened her mouth, however, Bella caught sight of Mike's drooping shoulders the longer she remained quiet. Guilt kicking in, the sigh finally escaped only to be covered with a smile.

"I think you should accept Jessica's offer, especially since you like her and she clearly likes you," Bella suggested. "Besides, you'll have a lot more fun with her than me."

"But-"

"Look, I'm not one for dances," Bella pressed when Mike began to argue. Besides boys chasing after her, the last thing she wanted to do was show the entire class how graceful she actually was. "Anyways, I already have plans that Saturday."

"Are you sure?" Mike pressed, brows bunching as he examined the shorter girl's face.

"I'm sure," Bella confirmed before opening the door in hopes of changing the topic. "Come on, I'm hungry. Let's eat."

"Yeah, okay," Mike dejectedly mumbled.

* * *

By the time Bella made it to her truck at the end of the day, she had turned down Mike, Eric and Tyler. When asked by her female companions, Bella's impromptu lie turned into detailed plans of going to Seattle to pick up supplies for a project. At first Jessica, Angela, and even Lauren, had complained, but quickly let the matter slide when they realized they could ask the respective men out without worry of competition.

Happy to have her plans work out smoothly for once, Bella started up Ol' Red and headed to the store. She was in the mood to celebrate with Mexican cuisine and, considering they were in Washington, Bella opted to make the food herself.

"Let's see...I have onions and bell peppers at home, but I need stuff for the salsa," Bella muttered to herself as she wandered down the aisle fifteen minutes later looking for chilies and tomatoes.

By the time she had pulled into the store's parking lot, Bella changed her mind from wanting tacos to enchiladas, quesadillas, and empanadas. Grabbing the basket, her pallet directed her down the outer walls of the store so she could collect the fresher ingredients as she decided upon chicken enchiladas. They would take a long time to make, but they were definitely worth the effort. Besides, she knew that they were Charlie's favorite.

Bagging the last of the vegetables, Bella stacks them neatly within her basket.

"Edible art," a soft, melodic voice remarked over her shoulder.

Jumping in surprise, Bella calmed her frantic heart. For having supernatural hearing, my attention sure does suck, Bella grumbled at being around to scold the person for invading her personal space, Bella felt a smile escape before she could stop herself. "Esme!"

"Erm, hi," Bella amended in a calmer tone, alarmed at the level of excitement she felt upon seeing the woman. The brilliant smile that graced a set of plump lips made her slip worth it though.

"Hello, dear," Esme greeted, delighted to see that she had not scared Bella off after her abrupt departure the other day. "How are you feeling?"

"Me? Oh, fine. Fit as rain," Bella replied, flexing one arm.

"That's good to hear."

"Yeah," Bella mumbled, inwardly cursing herself her turning into a bumbling buffoon around the woman.

As a silence settled between the two, Bella shifted awkwardly.

"So-"

"What-"

Both women began at the same time only to end up laughing. With the tension broken, Bella smiled and gestured for Esme to continue.

"I was going to ask what you were planning on making," Esme inquired as she gestured at the minimal, yet selective ingredients resting in the basket on Bella's arm.

"Oh! Um, chicken enchiladas," Bella smiled. "They're Charlie's favorite."

"That's very sweet of you to go out of your way like that."

"Well," Bella chuckled guiltily as she rubbed the back of her head. "Can you keep a secret?"

Quirking an eyebrow, the woman nodded.

"I'm hoping to use it as leverage."

"Oh?"

"Yeah, I want to go down to Seattle and I'm hoping that the dish will butter him up," Bella admitted. She wasn't sure why she felt compelled to reveal such tidbits to Esme. She knew it was more than just the kind face that made the confessions tumble so freely. Without admitting it, even to herself, Bella simply wanted to keep Esme from running off again so soon. Frowning at the inner admission, the girl pushed such thoughts aside to ponder upon later.

"I'm sure that would do the trick then," Esme whispered conspiringly before winking, which simply caused Bella to blush profusely. Delighted with the reaction, Esme kept her smug smile in check as she inquired her next question. "When are you planning on going?"

"Um. Not this Saturday, but the following," Bella supplied after a moment of recalling the date of the dance.

"Are you not going to attend the dance?"

The concern in Esme's voice caused Bella to tap the tip of her toes against the cold tile. "Nah, I'm not one for school dances."

"And why not?" Esme pushed.

Rather than stating that she did not care to dance, like she had for everyone else, Bella bit her tongue as she was about to admit that there were no beautiful, caramel-haired ladies to ask. Clearing her throat, Bella decided to stick to her original excuse. "I was going to pick up supplies for my next project."

"Are you unable to gather them here in town?"

"I was also going to do some shopping. I figured the city would have better options than Forks and it made more sense to just get everything done in one day rather than multiple trips," Bella came up with on the fly. The question was fair enough, and one that Charlie would probably ask her as well.

"Hm." Glancing away and then back, as if doing mental calculations, Esme suddenly smiled. "Would you like a ride?"

"I have Ol' Red," Bella began.

"Are you sure he'll make it?" Esme inquired in a gentle, yet serious tone.

She might not like the truck much, especially considering how loud and slow the beast was, but the remark caused Bella's pride to bristle. About to open her mouth to defend the gift her dad had given her, Bella's mouth snapped shut as she realized that Esme meant no harm by the remark. "Fair enough," Bella conceded. "Are you sure you don't mind? I can be a very picky shopper."

"I would not have offered if I did," Esme reassured, delighted at knowing Bella would make the trip safely. "What time were you thinking?"

"Um, well. I suppose the earlier the better," Bella admitted. For as much as she loved her sleep, Bella knew that the drive time would take anywhere from 3-4 hours, especially in her truck. If only she could get away with running in her natural form.

"How about I pick you up by 9?" Esme offered after a moment's thought. "That way you can have time to sleep in and perhaps enjoy a hot breakfast. We'll still have a good amount of time to shop around before having to head home."

"That sounds lovely." Bella smiled before pulling out the phone Charlie insisted she carried to add the date to her calendar. "Well, I should probably get going," Bella realized as she caught sight of the time.

"I should too," Esme agreed after a slight hesitation.

"Thank you again, Esme."

"Anytime, dear. Why don't you call me soon and we can discuss your ideas so we know what to get in Seattle."

Smiling at the considerate offer, Bella agreed before making her way towards the cashier.

"You probably should not have done that," Jasper reasoned as he came up to stand next to caramel-haired woman once Bella had moved far enough away.

Sighing, Esme turned and made her way down through the produce to the canned foods as she refrained from answering. She knew that Jasper was only concerned about her and the family, but Esme could not help herself. She felt compelled to spend time with the girl, especially with the knowledge of the red-haired woman still at bay.

"We'll discuss it later once everyone's home," Esme conceded as Jasper helped her load the cart with food to take to the shelter the next day.

* * *

Why am I so hell-bent on spending time with the mother of my classmates? Bella mused as she took her frustrations out on the chicken and chilies.

Her happy demeanor in seeing Esme had disappeared the further she got from the store. By the time she reached home, she was kicking herself in the arse for accepting any and all of the woman's assistance, plans, and advice over the past few days.

She knew she had no chance, considering that Esme was a married woman and she was a shape-shifting teenager, but she couldn't help but torture herself. There was an unmistakable drawl. Besides, Esme was the one who kissed her. It was on the cheek though, you idiot. She probably kisses everyone on the cheek.

Realizing that her best course of action was to contact Esme and cancel the trip, along with any further engagements they might partake in, Bella jammed the blade into the onion, causing it to cleave in half due to the force of the contact. Best course of action or not, Bella could not bring herself to make such a call. After seeing Esme this afternoon, Bella felt that the simple pleasure was turning out to be a strong need.

Deciding to work out the kinks later, Bella threw her frustration into making the sauce for the enchiladas as she began to saute the chicken, onions and chilies.

Show me how to lie

You're getting better all the time

And turning all against the one

Is an art that's hard to tea-

Pulling the last of the homemade tortillas off the stove, Bella fished her phone out of her back pocket with her tail. Flipping the device up and over, Bella caught the phone in a fluid motion as her thumb swiped the screen to answer the call without looking to see who was calling. As far as she knew, only four people had her number: Renee, Charlie, Esme and Angela.

"Hello?"

"Bella!"

Pulling the phone away from her ear at the screech, brown eyes blinked in confusion as she failed to recognize the number.

"Um, yes?"

"It's Jessica, silly!"

"Oh. Hi," Bella greeted, wondering how she had gotten the number.

"The weather man said that it is supposed to be beautiful Sunday and a group of us are gathering to go to-"

Before Bella could answer, she heard a beep cut through the line. Glancing at her phone again, fine brows scrunched in confusion at another unknown number. "One second, Jessica." Swapping the call over, Bella greeted the caller. "Hello?"

"La Push, baby!"

"Eric?" Bella questioned.

"Yes ma'am! You in?"

"Am I supposed to know what that means?" Bella questioned while flipping the diced chicken and onions over. Before she got a reply, another call came through. "Ugh, hold that thought." Bella remarked before answering the third unknown number.

"Hello?" Bella greeted once again.

"Bella! Are you going?"

"Who is this?" Bella inquired even though she recognized the voice.

"Who else? It's Mike!"

"Going where?" Bella rolled her eyes.

"La Push!"

"I haven't the slightest clue what or who or where that is," Bella replied.

"It's a-"

"Hold on," Bella interrupted. "I've Jessica and Eric on the line, too. Can we connect the calls?"

"Sure thing!" Mike replied before the line went silent.

Sighing, Bella attempted to swap the call back over to Jessica or Eric only to find the line was dead on both ends. Turning back to the food, Bella began to layer each tortilla with sauce, black beans, the sauted chicken and cheese before rolling them and placing them one by one into the dish. By the third one her phone lit up again.

Show me how to lie

You're ge-

Still not recognizing the number, Bella wiped her hands clean before answering the phone once more. "Hello?"

"Bella!"

"La Push, baby!"

"Did it work?"

As the voices assaulted her ear all at once, Bella regretted asking to do a group call.

"As I was saying," Mike cut in, "La Push is a beach down on the Quileute rez. We were thinking of going on Sunday. There's a big swell coming in."

"Yeah! And I don't just surf the internet," Eric added.

"Eric, you stood up once. On a foam board," Jessica retorted, her eye roll heard even though it went unseen.

Allowing the debate to run rampant for a time, Bella focused on finishing up the enchiladas. Adding the final one into the pan, she covered the top with a generous sprinkle of cheese and cilantro before slipping the dish into the preheated oven. Setting the timer, Bella finally cut into the conversation.

Realizing that she had no clue what they were even talking about, for the topic had wandered far away from La Push, Bella decided to ask the question that had popped up three times within the past ten minutes. "Guys, how did you get my number?" Bella interrupted.

"Angela," came the instant reply from three different voices.

Seriously? Bella sighed. She had given the number to the Asian for she knew that she would be the one classmate who would not abuse the information. Before Bella could voice her frustration, Jessica added the person in question to the group call.

"Sorry, Bella." Angela's voice came through the line.

"It's okay, everyone was bound to get it eventually," Bella reasoned, keeping her tone as neutral as possible.

"So, you're in?" Angela inquired, not realizing that the group had never got around to confirming the plans.

"I don't surf, and more so, I don't do water," Bella remarked as she began to clean up the kitchen.

"There's whale watching, too," Angela offered.

Realizing that there would be a counter for any and every argument, Bella reluctantly agreed. She had wanted to make acquaintances, not friends. But, what harm could come by keeping up the relationships for appearances sake?

"Sure, why not," Bella answered.

Hanging up the phone, long after the timer had gone off, the kitchen was clean, and rice and beans sat simmering on the stove, Bella leaned against the counter with a sigh. She found keeping up a hour long phone conversation to be the most exhausting task she had handled in a while. And she thought conversing with Renee had been bad.

Shaking her head, Bella began to set the table as she caught sight of the time. Charlie was due home any minute and she hoped to butter her dad up for not just the Seattle trip but the trip to La Push as well. The Seattle one she had planned far enough away from the accident that Charlie shouldn't have a problem with her going, at least in that regards, but he might be uncomfortable with her going to the beach this Sunday.

Hearing the cruiser pull into the driveway, Bella sighed.

"Welp, only one way to find out," Bella breathed before grabbing a beer and water from the fridge.


	11. Chapter 11

Ch. 11

"I thought we agreed not to get involved with Bella," Edward accused as Esme and Jasper came through the door.

The pair had just returned home from the food cupboard. Finishing up the shopping, Esme and Jasper had decided to take the food over that night rather than in the morning since it was going to be sunny and they did not want the fresh produce to spoil.

"You had agreed to that, not me," Esme quipped as she slid her jacket off.

"Perhaps we should discuss this in the living room," Carlisle interrupted as Edward opened his mouth once more.

Realizing the comment was more of a command than a request, Edward pivoted about and went to join his other three siblings.

Catching hold of the doctor's hand before he could follow suit, Esme gave the appendage a brief, grateful squeeze.

Smiling in reply, Carlisle escorted Esme toward the love seat that had been left open for them.

Before anyone could speak, Carlisle cleared his throat. "Before we ask questions or jump to conclusions, why don't we allow Esme and Jasper to explain the latest revelation."

Glancing over at Jasper, Esme took an unnecessary breath when she realized that he was offering her the chance to explain what happened. "I ran into Bella at the grocery store today and after a brief conversation, offered to take her to Seattle for the day in a week's time," Esme summarized.

She felt no need to add unnecessary details, such as how she felt when she saw Bella in the store. Even if the girl had not lit up when she registered who had interrupted her shopping, Esme still would have been compelled to linger for a time. Esme did not mind that Jasper was aware of her spiraling feelings, however she did not want him to share his knowledge with the rest of the family. At least not yet. After a brief discussion in the car about him keeping the details to himself, Esme was grateful to not add those worries to the growing list.

"I really don't see what the big deal is," Emmett sighed from his spot on the couch. With one foot on the cushion and an elbow perched on the armrest, Emmett was able to slouch in the corner in a fashion where his knuckles held up his head while Rosalie snuggled contently into his side. "She seems interesting. Why can't we get to know her?"

"Besides the obvious reasons we've already been over?" Edward growled at the larger man.

"I'm just saying, there's something off about her and I'm not the only one who is curious," Emmett argued. "If we're trying to figure her out, why can't we allow some diversity into our lives at the same time?"

"He does have a point," Alice considered from Jasper's lap.

"I thought you were against it," Rosalie quirked an eyebrow at her younger sibling. She knew that Bella was a conundrum to her sister right from the start, but the blonde woman figured the concerns that the family held had outweighed the need to inquire. However, now that Alice had become intrigued, causing the majority of the vote to tip the opposite direction, Rosalie knew it was only a matter of time before the entire family gave in.

Tilting her head to the side, golden eyes gazed out the floor to ceiling windows. "Even without knowing for sure, I would bet that she means no one any harm," Alice reasoned after a moment.

"Are you insane!?" Edward growled. The first day Bella had stepped foot in school everyone had been on board with his plan, especially after his first day back at school. "Bella is not safe to be around. You're all talking about not if she finds out, but a matter of when!"

"Were your reasons of offering to drive her the same as working on the projects?" Rosalie inquired while ignoring the outburst. So far the only one not safe around her was Edward from what the family had observed both at and outside of school.

"There were multiple reasons, but many of them the same. Some have simply expanded," Esme replied honestly.

"And you Jasper?" Carlisle inquired. "What is your take in regards to all of this?"

Frowning for a moment, Jasper tightened his grip around Alice as he considered the question. "That response fluctuates. I agree with Alice. I do not believe that she means any of us ill-will," Jasper shared as he thought back to the way Esme and Bella interacted in the store earlier that evening. "Although I believe it would be in our best interest to tread with caution, it would not hurt to get to know her considering there are details and questions left to answer."

"Are you all serious?" Edward growled. "You're willing to jeopardize our lives here simply because you're curious about her?"

"You're one to talk," Emmett grumbled.

Glaring at the larger man, Edward ignored the remark as he turned to look at Esme and more so Carlisle. "Besides the obvious reasons for avoiding her, I thought we agreed that she would be safer if we stayed away. We haven't seen the red-headed woman since the other night and keeping at bay seems to be doing the trick," Edward reminded his family.

"And what if she's just waiting for the right moment when Bella's alone?" Esme countered, golden eyes darkening at the thought of danger coming to the girl.

"We'll do something to keep her in town," Edward shrugged, not caring about how they worked their way around that concern. "Allowing her deeper into our lives is just going to damn her and cause us unneeded troubles."

"Just because you have issues maintaining your cool around her doesn't mean we should be punished," Emmett argued.

"I'm fine around her," Edward gritted out.

"Riiiiiight."

Ignoring Emmett, Edward tried reasoning with the family from a different angle. "Are you all willing to have the town find out?"

"About what exactly?" Carlisle inquired, uncertain the precise direction the conversation was turning.

"About you and Esme," Edward supplied without going into details.

"If it means Esme is happy, then yes," Carlisle replied.

Gripping Carlisle's hand, Esme squeezed the limb in gratitude for the second time that night.

"She is a child! A simple girl," Edward screamed. "Even if you were to reveal that you two are not together it would still be inappropriate on multiple fronts."

"We will cross that when the time comes," Carlisle determined.

"You can't be serious!"

"As Carlisle said, if it makes Esme happy, then I'll back the decision," Emmett shrugged.

"I agree with Emmett," Rosalie decided after a moment of watching Edward fume. She was not fond of putting her family at risk, but she knew that Esme was not the reckless type. If there was a reason for pursuing a relationship with the girl then Rosalie would be supportive.

"I always wanted a best friend," Alice chirped in delight now that the ban of getting to know Bella was lifted, causing Jasper to chuckle.

"You mean my best friend?" Emmett countered.

"Pfft. You wish," Alice rolled her golden eyes.

"Seriously?!" Edward cried out. "You all are willing to put not only her, but us in danger?"

"We will take things slow," Carlisle determined. "If there comes a moment of alarm, we will discuss the matter further at that point. In the meantime, we will figure out how to break the news to the town to allow Esme the freedom to explore this relationship."

"And if she doesn't return the feelings?" Edward sneered.

"Oh, she will," Jasper grinned, causing Alice to giggle as Rosalie and Emmett chuckled at Esme's flustered appearance.

* * *

"Towel. Check. Change of clothes. Check. Sunscreen. Check."

Going through the pile on her bed, Bella sorted everything into the duffle bag before carrying the bag downstairs and into the kitchen. Setting it on the counter next to the cooler Charlie had lent her, Bella scrounged the fridge for the drinks, sandwiches and snacks she had prepped the night before. Setting her armload on the counter, Bella quickly filled the bottom of the cooler with the drinks before adding a layer of ice. Once done, she topped the ice off with food that needed to be kept fresh and cold. Closing the lid, Bella slid the remaining items into the separate compartment.

Putting the cooler next to the duffle, Bella did another mental check before remembering her phone and wallet upstairs. Dashing back up to her bedroom, Bella slid her wallet in her back pocket before unplugging her phone from the charger. As the screen lit up, Bella noticed a missed call from Jessica and text messages from the others who were going.

Biting back a frown when she saw no message or call from Esme, Bella slid her phone into her other back pocket.

Bella knew that she would probably have to be the one to initiate the conversation, either via text or call, but to be safe, she was holding off until the weekend was over. Her avoidance was not due to not wanting to talk to Esme, but rather due to her behavior Friday night after dinner.

Charlie had surprisingly said yes to both the beach and to Seattle. For as much as she wanted to take complete credit for swooning her father with her cooking, Bella knew he had agreed for other reasons as well. As far as La Push went, Charlie was happy to hear that Bella had made friends. He also mentioned that Bella should hook up with Jake while down there. To top off his reasoning for accepting, with Bella in the area Charlie felt he could go fishing with Billy and still be close by if she needed him.

As for Seattle, that had taken a bit more to entice out of him. The saving grace was that she would be with Esme. Originally Charlie had offered to take Bella himself, but when she mentioned she wanted to shop for clothes and feminine products, Charlie thought better of his act of kindness. Instead, Charlie asked similar questions that Esme had and finally caved when he discovered Esme had offered to drive her. He didn't mention it to Bella, but Charlie figured having a positive mother figure in Bella's life would do his daughter wonders. Renee was fine and all, but she was a kid herself.

Excited about Charlie agreeing, Bella had offered to tidy up the kitchen, much to Charlie's protest. In actuality, Bella wanted nothing more than to rush upstairs and to call Esme about the news. However, when her thoughts wandered to inviting Esme to the beach, Bella had to slam on the breaks. Not only was Bella making assumptions that Esme wanted to be her friend, the invitation would also result in social awkwardness due to inviting her classmates' mom rather than her classmates.

In an effort to reign in her emotions, Bella assured her father that she didn't mind and sent him off with another beer to go watch t.v. while she set to scrubbing the entire kitchen. The brunette knew that she would find nothing but trouble by chasing after a married mother of five. Despite trying to sober her thoughts with a shower afterwards, Bella had collapsed into bed with a smile gracing her lips and her tail swaying happily in the dark.

The same tail was currently swaying once again at the thought of the caramel-haired woman. Sighing, Bella checked her appearance in the mirror hanging on the back of her bedroom door. Making sure both her tail and ears were gone, Bella took a final glance around the room before heading back downstairs to load up _Ol' Red_. She had promised herself not to contact Esme that weekend, or at least until after the beach, and that is exactly what she would do. Setting the truck in gear, Bella focused on the day's events ahead. For as much as she disliked water, she was genuinely curious as to why her classmates were so hyped about La Push.

* * *

"About time you showed up, Phoenix!"

Rolling her eyes at the nickname Mike had given her Friday night while on the phone, Bella climbed out of _Ol'_ _Red._

"Someone forgot to bring a towel, so I had to go back since I was the closest," Bella reminded the blond haired jock as she tossed the spare towel at him. Despite her words, Bella smiled as the boy inhaled the scent of the towel before letting out a content sigh. "Careful there, I think Charlie uses that one to clean the fish guts off his boots," Bella teased.

Gagging, Mike quickly chunked the towel at Eric, who was cracking up next to Tyler. "Not funny guys," Mike grumbled.

"Actually, that was pretty funny," Angela grinned as she helped Bella unload the cooler from the truck. Grunting, she nearly dropped it on the ground due to the weight. "Geeze, Bella, what did you pack in here? A dead relative?"

"Two, actually." Bella smiled as she helped Angela carry it to the fire pit the boys had been building prior to her arrival. Under different circumstances, Bella could have lugged the cooler by herself, but she figured she should keep up the pretenses of being as strong as Angela to avoid unwanted questions.

Setting up the 'campsite', as Eric had taken to calling their spot on the beach, was rather simple. By the time Bella had arrived most of the work was finished. Bella's food contribution was the final touch to the bonfire that the group would be having later that evening when the sun set. With everything put in place, Bella found her way down to the water's edge. She had been to the beaches around La Push when she had visited Charlie in the summertime, but over the years the memories faded the beauty of the real thing.

The ocean was a dark charcoal, even in the sunlight, with the whitecaps creating the only distinguishing barrier are it rolled up upon the rocky shore or crashed against the sheer cliff sides that reached to uneven summits. Each island that rose out of the steel harbor water was crowned with austere, soaring firs, whereas the beach itself only had a thin border of actual sand at the water's edge. The remainder was covered in rocks and stones, each of which were polished by the tender caress of the salty fluids surrounding them.

The tide line was strewn with huge driftwood trees, bleached bone white in the salt waves. Whilst some were piled together against the edge of the forest fringe, others were solitarily scattered about, just out of the reach of the waves. Bella figured this is what the group had gathered to use for the bonfire.

As the pelicans floated on the swells and the seagulls and lone eagle wheeled above them, Bella turned away from the brisk, briny wind that rolled off the waves and made her way back over to her classmates. As she moved closer, Bella watched as Eric and another lad gathered broken branches of driftwood from the drier piles to place them in a fire circle that was filled with black ashes that sat in the center of a ring of driftwood logs.

"Have you ever seen a driftwood fire?" Mike inquired as he came to stand next to Bella.

"No," Bella answered honestly. The times she had been down to the beach had been with Charlie and they mostly consisted of walking the shoreline for a limited timeframe or out on the waters, fishing.

"You'll like this then. Hey Ben, let me," Mike interrupted the lad who had helped Eric to build the logs into a teepee-shaped construction atop the old cinders. Kneeling by the fire, Mike lit one of the smaller sticks with his cigarette lighter. Placing the blazing twig against tier of wood he quickly lit another small branch and laid it alongside the first.

As the flames started to lick quickly up the dry wood, Bella's eyes widened in surprise as they turned blue. Narrowing as she examined the flames more closely, Bella pitched a guess. "Is it due to the salt?"

"Yeah, how'd you know?" Mike pouted when his intent to impress Bella failed.

"I'm good at science, Mike. Haven't you figured that out?" Bella teased. "It's really cool though, thank you for showing me."

Beaming at the complement, Mike lit one more piece of wood to help the logs that had not caught yet.

"Seriously though, how'd you know?" Jessica inquired as she came to stand next to Bella when she noticed her and Mike were conversing.

"Oh. Um, I used to be really big into chemistry and biology back in Phoenix," Bella shrugged.

"Used to be?" Angela questioned next as she joined the group as well. Despite the sun still being up, the fire provided the warmth that the season lacked.

"Yeah, well, people grow up. Interests change," Bella lied. She was intrigued by the topics but that was only because she was curious by her own biological makeup. Rather than expressing continued interest in the topic and have everyone press on the matter, Bella decided error on the side of caution.

"I get you, homegirl," Eric agreed as he tried to settle an arm over Bella's shoulders only to frown as his attempt failed when Bella idly slid to the side. "I used to be a nerd. Now? Now I'm cool," he declared while gesturing down his body at his wet suit. "Anyone up to catch the swells?"

Rolling their eyes, everyone agreed and went to put on their suits while Bella and Angela lingered by the fire.

"Not big on surfing?" Bella asked as she picked up a branch to poke the fire with.

"Not overly," Angela admitted.

"And Jess?"

Chuckling, Angela watched as Bella shifted the wood around to get the flames to catch better. "She's just out there to impress Mike in the hopes he'll go to the dance with her."

"Aaaahh, and what about you?"

Blushing, Angela tucked a strand of dark hair behind her ear before shrugging. "I keep thinking to ask Eric," she finally revealed.

"You should."

"He likes you though," Angela sighed.

Frowning, Bella jabbed the branch into the fire, allowing the flames to claim the driftwood completely. "Can you keep a secret?" Bella asked while turning to face the one girl she would consider a friend.

Caught off guard by the change in conversation, Angela simply nodded.

"I'm interested in someone - someone who doesn't go to our school. So, he is all yours. Just like Mike is all Jessica's, if she wants him," Bella reassured.

Studying Bella for a moment, the Asian finally smiled. "I appreciate that. Jess will, too," Angela admitted. "So...?"

"No, you can't know," Bella replied, guessing where Angela was going with the question.

Laughing, Angela held her hands up in surrender. "Wanna go take pictures of the driftwood with me while they're out splashing around?" Angela offered.

"I'd like that," Bella smiled. "After you."


	12. Chapter 12

**Ch. 12**

Taking pictures of the beach for the latest news article quickly turned to taking pictures of everyone attempting to surf. During the event, Bella discovered two things. First off, she determined that it was rather relaxing to hang with Angela on the beach. The girl was a peaceful individual to be around, especially since she did not feel the need to fill every silent moment with endless chatter. The second realization was that Bella was having more fun than she initially anticipated. Watching the surfers continuously crash into the steel trap below also made the time memorable. By the time the group dragged their washed up bodies out of the ocean, Bella was happy that she had tagged along.

As everyone settled about the fire for much needed warmth, Bella helped Angela to pull out the food for lunch.

"You all probably should have waited a couple more months until jumping in," Angela teased as she passed out sandwiches to her shivering friends.

"W-w-we're fine," Eric retorted, his voice broken by the shivers that wracked his body has his blood tried to resume flowing through the frozen limbs.

"Yeah, it's not like the water ever gets warm up here," Ben reasoned.

"I guess we could just have popsicles for lunch," Bella teased as she grabbed the drinks for everyone.

"That'd be mean," Jessica pouted from beneath the bundle of blankets she had found in Mike's van.

Chuckling, Bella just shook her head and went to find the campfire kettle. As Bella rigged the kettle above the flames to boil everyone some hot cocoa, the group continued the playful banter as everyone settled in for lunch.

"So, what does everyone want to do now?" One of the boys asked about half an hour later once the food had been packed away. If Bella recalled correctly his name was Lee, or Conner. Maybe even Bob. The brunette had hardly talked to the guy, even during the outing.

"We could go check out the tidepools," Mike suggested.

"Roast marshmallows?" Angela offered.

"Wanna surf again?" Eric inquired only to be quickly shot down.

"Why don't we play a game?" Lauren grinned. "Something to...get to know one another better."

"Like spin the bottle?"

"More of a…Never have I ever," Lauren supplied, her grin turning devlish.

"Oh! Can we turn it into like a strip poker version since we don't have drinks?" Mike inquired.

"Eww!" Jessica gasped right as Angela supplied a hasty, "No!"

"We'll start simple," Lauren sighed, waving her hand in irritation at the lack of her friends enthusiasm. "The questions will be easy and safe until everyone gets a feel for the rules and then we can up the stakes."

"So what happens when the person wins?"

"I don't know," Lauren shrugged, not having thought that far. "They can pick the next activity?"

"Sounds fair."

"Yeah."

"Ok."

With everyone in agreement, Lauren cleared her throat. "Okay, so to play. You start the statement with 'Never have I ever' and then fill in the blank with whatever activity you have not done. The goal is to come up with something you haven't done but others have. The first to ten loses - you can use your fingers to keep tally," Lauren added at the end. "Okay! I'll begin. This is just a sample question, so I'll keep it easy to kick us off. 'Never have I ever broken a bone'."

At first there were hesitations, but eventually four fingers went down and six remained stationary.

"Good! Now, a final rule. If only one person has done it then they have to share the details," Lauren added before tossing the rock she picked up to Tyler to indicate it was his turn.

Wondering how much trouble this game was going to get her into, Bella squirmed on the log as the next few questions were asked.

Passing from Lee to Jessica, then to Mike, Angela, Eric, Ben, Samantha, and finally Conner, the rock eventually landed in Bella's lap.

As of yet, the questions had been relatively simple and non-invasive as they ranged from whether someone had drank coffee to if they had crafted something out of wood to or ate food off the ground. A couple of rounds that Bella was also guilty of was falling down in public, rolling down a hill, and locking her keys in the car. All in all, the game was not as bad as she thought.

Considering her question, Bella twirled the stone between her fingers, enjoying the smooth texture. "Um...Never have I...had a manicure," Bella finally decided.

The groans that went about the circle surprised her as all the other girls in the group and Eric put down yet another finger.

"Seriously dude?" Mike arched his eyebrow as everyone stared to look at the Asian who was the first to lose the game.

"What? It was a dare!" Eric defended.

"Right, sure it was," Tyler grinned before frowning. "You've seriously done everything on the list though?"

"They were easy questions," Lauren huffed before Eric could reply. "Bella, the rock please? Okay, now that everyone knows how to play let's kick it up a notch," Lauren declared. "Never have I ever walked in on my parents."

Once again the rock went about the circle, sometimes faster than others as the statements became bolder and bolder.

"Never have I ever watched porn with someone else."

"That's a lie, Ty," Eric laughed as him and Ben high-fived. They knew that he had watched with Mike when they were younger and were first discovering what was out there.

"Never have I ever had sex in front of other people," Lee offered next to which everyone debated if that included the person they had sex with or anyone outside of that coupling until the rock was passed along to Jessica.

"Never have I ever flashed someone."

"Does it count if it wasn't sexually related but you were showing your friend something?" Mike hesitantly asked.

"It counts," Lauren and Jessica agreed at the same time before giggling.

"Fine. But you two are probably guilty, too then. Never have I masturbated at someone else's house."

"Lie. Cough. Lie." Eric mumbled again behind his fist.

Rolling her eyes, Angela swiped the rock from Eric before completing her turn, "Never have I ever had sex," and passing the stone on to Ben.

"Never have I ever cried during sex."

"That's because you've never had sex! Boom!" Tyler and Mike cracked up, returning the high-five for his earlier agreement with Eric.

"Grow up guys," Eric grabbed the stone from Ben. "Never have I ever taken someone's virginity," Eric declared before putting down a finger.

"Oh yeah? Who?" Mike demanded to know.

"Your momma's!" Eric cackled.

"Dude, grow up!"

"You grow up!"

It took a few more minutes before the rock moved on to Samantha's "Never have I ever skinny dipped" and Conner's "Never have I ever fantasized about someone in this group."

By the time the rock returned to Bella everyone had stopped trying to keep tally and was simply picking at one another. Debating on what to say, Bella wondered if she could get away with something simple. She quickly dismissed that notion since even Angela had played along. Rather than repeat and have to come up with a more raunchy statement, Bella cleared her throat. No better time than the present to kill two birds with one stone.

"Never have I ever kissed a girl," Bella finally stated, causing silence to fill the air for a moment before everyone began to talk at once.

"Whoa!"

"Seriously?"

"You're gay?"

The comments bombarded Bella all at once before everyone realized that it was a game where you did not try to out yourself.

"Aw, man! There goes my fantasizes."

Chuckling, Bella waited a minute before putting down her final finger, having actually kept score during the game.

"Actually, I have kissed a girl," Bella answered as she rose from the tree trunk she had been sitting on for the past hour. "On that note, however, I'm out of the game and I need to stretch. I'm going to go for a walk while you guys finish up," Bella decided. "Is that cool?"

"Y-yeah, yeah, sure," Mike nodded after a moment, as if in a daze when no one else spoke up.

It wasn't that Bella wanted permission to take a walk, she just felt rude for ditching a group activity, especially after such a statement.

"Do you want company?" Angela offered.

"Nah, you're still in the game. I'll be back in a bit," Bella smiled before taking off to follow the shoreline.

In actuality, Bella had only ever kissed one girl before and that was back in grade school. Bella and Tara had been goofing around on the playground during recess when her classmate had fallen off the swing set. When the girl had scraped her knee and began to cry, Bella thought nothing of her act as she bent down and kissed the wound to make Tara feel better. Surprisingly, the trick actually worked and the two continued their game.

Swooping down as she walked, Bella scooped up a handful of stones to toss into the water. Perhaps she should have stayed and shared the specifications of why she kissed a girl. Pausing for a brief moment to reflect on that idea, Bella lodged a stone across the water. Watching as the smooth object skipped a few times before sinking beneath the waves Bella dismissed the idea before selecting another rock from the pile in her hand.

The brunette was anticipating that there would be gossip, Bella was prepared to address the matter at hand since the rumor would help her in two ways. First off, the bit of information provided tonight would break the ice regarding her sexual preferences. Secondly, and hopefully, the information would discourage future suitors. _Perhaps Mike and Eric will finally get the hint_ , Bella mused as she skipped another rock. If all else failed, Bella could simply share the story of what happened to set everyone back on the straight and narrow.

Skipping the last of the stones into the encroaching waves, Bella continued her path along the shoreline until reaching the forest edge. For a moment, she wondered if she should turn back. It would be rude to wander off for too long. However, with the sun still reasonably high in the sky and her behind aching from sitting on the hard log, Bella's feet carried her across the threshold and into the trees.

The sky was quickly lost as Bella transitioned from a world of drabby grey to that of a luminescent green. It was not Bella's first time in the forests of Washington by any means, but the feeling of awe had yet to dampen, especially when the surel, ominous sensation clashed with the sound of faint adolescent laughter carried to her by the ocean.

Moving deeper into the woods, Bella allowed her body to take over in guiding her around the intricate layers of ferns, roots, and skewed branches. It was about a quarter of a mile in that Bella stopped and glanced over her shoulder. Since entering the woods she couldn't shake the feeling that she was being watched.

Closing her eyes for a moment, Bella exhaled slowly before opening to reveal that brown hues had been replaced with electric green. Again, Bella caught nothing even with her heightened eyesight. About to shift her ears as well, Bella sniffed twice before sneezing as the scent of wet-dog invaded her senses. Scanning the surrounding area, a flash of black caught her attention followed by a streak of silver and grey. Closing her eyes, brown eyes opened in time to be met with the image of three half dressed men appearing between the trees.

"What are you doing here?" The voice resonated with power and authority.

Eyeing the other two lads, Bella turned her attention to the foremost boy, or perhaps man, who had spoken. Although all three had similar, muscular builds that towered over six feet, had the same jet black hair that was clipped close to their scalps, and wore the same displeased expressions, Bella realized that the one addressing her held a certain air that the other two lacked.

Crossing her arms, Bella shifted to rest casually with most of her weight on one foot. "Taking a walk," the brunette replied after a moment. "Is that a problem?" She had no desire to start a fight, but at the same time she refused to back down to this...pack of boys.

"Who are you?" The man spoke again rather than answering her question.

Arching an eyebrow, Bella debated before replying, "Mary Poppins."

A low, guttural growl escaped from the man standing to the right of Bella. "Listen here, b-"

"Paul, enough." The command was short and direct.

Brown eyes narrowing, Paul fell silent.

"I won't ask again, what is your name?"

"And why should I feel comfortable giving...you," Bella eyed the man before her, "that sort of information?"

"You are clearly not a human. We need to ascertain if you are a threat."

"Well, as long as you keep Paul there on a short leash, we should be just dandy," Bella reasoned with a shrug.

Growling once more, Paul took a step forward, "Why you little-"

"Enough!" The man in front of him barked, once again interrupting Paul.

"But Sam!"

"I said enough!"

Stepping back a pace, Paul remained silent.

Keeping her gaze on the obvious leader of the group, brown eyes watched in discrete fascination as Paul's body vibrated slightly.

"Look, I mean no harm to your little patch of trees. So, if we're done here I'll just be on my way," Bella offered.

"And to the humans?" Sam demanded, his eyes hardening.

"What humans?" Bella asked baffled by the question.

"Do you harm humans?" Sam clarified.

"Why would I want to harm humans?" Bella retorted, still uncertain as to where the new line of questioning was taking them.

Before Sam could answer, his body stiffened as wide nostrils flared suddenly.

Turning her head to the side to see what had caught Sam's attention, chocolate hues blinked in surprise as she watched as Jake emerged out of the woods.

"Bella?" Jake questioned in surprise.

"You know her?" Sam asked.

"Yeah, that's Bella Swan. Chief Swan's daughter," Jake shrugged before glancing at the other two behind Sam. "Everything okay here, Bella?" Jake asked.

"Yeah, just getting to know Sam, Paul and, I didn't catch your name," Bella smiled sweetly.

"Embry."

Hiding a grin at the short, reluctant reply, Bella continued with her sickening sweet smile. "Well, it's a pleasure having met you three, but I must be off. Don't want my friends to worry something happened to me."

Bidding the group goodbye, Bella turned to head back the way she came. Before she could take more than a handful of steps, she heard her name called.

"Bella! Wait!"

Turning to see who had called her name, Bella watched as Jake caught up to her.

"Everything okay?" Jake asked, his tone serious. "Nothing happened?"

"Yeah," Bella reassured, touched by the boy's concern.

"What did they want?" Jake asked as he fell into step with Bella, clearly walking her back to her friends.

Not minding the company, Bella didn't object. "Oh, just to see if I was lost in the woods," Bella replied.

"Right," Jake rolled his eyes, causing Bella to chuckle.

"I never did get a chance to thank you for fixing my truck," Bella remarked, blatantly changing the topic.

"Oh! It's no problem. There actually wasn't much damage."

"Well, either way, thank you," Bella smiled before frowning. "I'm sorry I haven't reached out much since being here."

"It's okay," Jake reassured. "How are you settling into Forks?"

"Surprisingly better than I expected," Bella replied honestly. "Making some friends at school, as you've probably noticed. Also met a couple of nice people outside of that jail, too," Bella joked, causing Jake to laugh.

"Your dad mentioned that you've been taking over the place since moving up here," Jake teased, causing Bella to grin.

"Yeah, the place was looking too much like a bachelor pad." Bella's face scrunched in distaste. "Thankfully I met Esme and she's offered to help me out with some of the bigger renovations."

"Esme?"

"Yeah, Esme Cullen. She's the mom of some of the kids I go to school with," Bella shrugged.

It took Bella a second to realize Jake had stopped walking. Turning around, her brows furrowed in concern when she noticed how serious and rigid her friend had become. "Jake?"

"You shouldn't hang out with her, Bella," Jake warned.

"Why not?" Bella asked in surprise.

"I hear that they're not good people," Jake began only to be cut off by Bella.

"I like you Jake, but I'm not going to have anyone tell me who I should and should not see, especially when that person hasn't even met the other in question." Bella asserted, crossing her arms as she stared Jake down.

Sighing in defeat, Jake ran a large hand through long, ebony locks. "Look, it's not me. It's how everyone down at reservation feels."

"And how is that?" Bella asked, genuinely curious.

"Do you know any of our old stories, about where we came from - the Quileutes, I mean?" Jake asked as he resumed walking.

"No, not really," Bella replied as she fell into step. "Why?"

"Well, there are a lot of legends. One of the legends claims that the Quileutes are descendents of wolves. In another, but adjacent legend, there are stories about the _cold ones_ ," Jake began.

"The _cold ones_?" Bella interrupted. She had heard about the _cold ones_ before. "You mean vampires?"

Shrugging, Jake continued on. "I guess. There are stories of the _cold ones_ as old as the wolf legends, some of which are much more recent. According to one of the legends, my great-grandfather knew some of them and he is the one who made a treaty that kept them off our land."

"Why would they keep them off the lands?" Bella inquired, intrigued by the information.

"Well, they're the natural enemies of the wolf, or more so the men that turn into wolves - werewolves? Anyways, the _cold ones_ are our natural enemies, but the clan that met with my great-grandfather are apparently different. They did not hunt the way the others of their kind did. I guess because they weren't dangerous to the tribe, my great-grandfather made a truce with them: If they stayed off our lands, we wouldn't expose them to the pale-faces."

"So, what did they hunt then?" Bella questioned as they drew in view of the fire. The sun had set by now and even though the moon hung brightly overhead, the twirling flames added a nice touch to the quiet night.

"Dunno," Jake answered honestly. "Anyways, it's just a legend. But, the interesting bit is the most recent legend - that they've returned."

"Who are 'they'?"

"The Cullens."

Stopping in mid-step, chocolate eyes turned to Jake. "What?"

Laughing, Jake rubbed the back of his head. "Crazy, right?"

"Yeah...crazy," Bella agreed, her mind whirling. How could they be vampires? Every story that she had heard described vampires to have red eyes, marking them for the blood that they consume in order to survive.

As flashes of red eyes crossed her mind along with red hair, Bella's attention was pulled back to the present by the shout of her name.

Waving her hand in response, Bella followed Jake back to the fire as her mind began to review the past few weeks since moving to Forks. Could the Cullens really be vampires?


	13. Chapter 13

Spinning in her computer chair, brown eyes closed in an effort to block out the blinding computer light. She had been staring at the screen for the better part of the past hour and had come up with nothing substantial. Stifling a groan, lithe fingers raced through tangled, mahogany locks before playing with the tuft of fur at the tip of a furry ear.

Bella knew she should be in bed, but sleep continued to evade her. Placing her desktop in hibernation, the young teen rose with a groan. Stretching for a moment, she slowly made her way to the window.

Despite leaving the beach around eight and making it home in roughly twenty minutes, it was past midnight by the time she made her way upstairs. Bella had hoped to come home and crash, but Charlie had intercepted her at the door. Feeling guilty for not helping with the fish he had caught earlier that day, she set about assisting Charlie in cleaning and prepping everything to either be cooked the following night or frozen for a later meal.

Eventually, Charlie had kicked her out of the kitchen. Not one to argue when Charlie offered to clean the kitchen, Bella retreated for a much needed shower. Only then had she welcomed her bed with open arms and a face-plant. Unfortunately, rather than being blessed with dreamless sleep, she ended up tossing and turning.

Giving up, Bella had reluctantly climbed out of bed and logged onto her desktop. Unfortunately, researching what the Cullens were and who, or more so what, she had ran into in the woods had up simply frustrated Bella more. Every time she figured out an answer to one question another three would pop to the forefront of her mind. Despite her best attempt, Bella was still unable to stop her thoughts and was growing tired of how her endless bout of questions seemed to chase her uncertainties around in circles.

Pulling the curtains back, nimble fingers adjusted the blinds and opened the window before popping out the screen. Settling on the ledge, Bella shifted to tuck one foot under her opposite thigh, which allowed her knee to protrude precariously out the window and into the open air. Resting back against the windowsill, Bella inhaled the scents that flowed along the springtime breeze. Counting to ten, Bella trapped the breath inside her lungs.

The cool air was a welcome balm to her dried out eyes and the stifling sensation of her bedroom.

Counting to ten once more, Bella exhaled slowly as brown eyes gazed listlessly up at moon dancing above the tree line. If she tilted her head just right, Bella could imagine hearing the Quileute wolves howl at luminescent orb.

Quirking her lips slightly at the thought, Bella hummed in amusement before a faint frown appeared. She had been unable to locate any pertinent or useful information regarding the native's legends, especially regarding the _cold ones_. As far as vampires went in general, her search results consisted of common myths supplied by either the media, fanatics, or old fables dug up from who knows where.

Bella knew that creatures of the night were real, she was one herself, after all. So, logically other supernatural creatures had to exist. Unfortunately, the information she had stumbled upon thus far left much to be desired.

Chewing on her bottom lip, Bella wracked her brain for the uptenth time as she tried to recall the tales her mother had shared with her when she was but just a young kit. The allegories had consisted of vast shadowy worlds that were full of ghosts, demons, and nightmarish creatures that haunted the dark. Back then, despite her desire to not be alone in the world, Bella had passed the fables off as bedtime stories that had been crafted lul a restless kit to sleep, pacify her fears of being different, and as a way for her mother to entice a child's imagination.

One of those nightly enchantments had been about a monstrosity with the speed and strength of a demigod and beauty that paled in comparison to almost none. But, beyond those key points, Bella simply drew a blank. Furthermore, she wasn't even certain if that particular tale had been about vampires.

Imagining the golden-eyed woman, Bella couldn't help but smile. Esme's beauty certainly paled in comparison to almost none, including her children, but she was certain that woman couldn't lift over forty pounds with how soft her skin and muscles appeared.

 _Not that I had been checking her out_ , Bella amended to no one but herself.

Sighing, Bella relaxed after her blush dissipated. Surely there had to be something her mother had mentioned about vampires. Rolling her head about, Bella cracked her neck before cringing. Ever since finding the hiker in the woods, she had a difficult time shaking the sight of the bloody body, especially when she popped her joints.

 _That was it!_ Bella straightened in excitement. "The deep burgundy marks their need to thirst on another's life force." Bella quoted somberly to herself. She was surprised she had forgotten how she always hid when her mother mentioned such details to her.

Recalling the blood-colored eyes she had seen in the forest, Bella failed to suppress a shudder. At least she now knew what was in the woods. But, if a vampire's eyes always gave them away, then how could the Cullens be a _cold one_ with eyes the color of sun-kissed wheat?

Frowning, Bella slouched back against the window beam as she began to run through a list of telltale signs and symptoms she had stumbled across during her previous search.

As far as she could recall, none of the Cullens, Esme or otherwise, had displayed acts of inhuman strength or speed. If anything, the only notable difference was that they were all uncommonly graceful and beautiful. But, that could just be genetics, despite each of them being adopted. Jasper and Rosalie were explainable at least, being a niece and nephew of Esme. But, as for other red flags, Bella had to cross the sunlight off her list. They all were out and about during the day. As for the holy water, wooden stake, garlic and coffin, well, that would have to wait.

What else had been on the list? Oh yes, possessing the body of the dead. Well, although they all had an odd scent to them, no red flags had gone off. Considering the fact that every teen smelt funny thanks to their raging hormones, Bella figured they were normal. At least they hadn't smelt like rotting flesh. As for Esme, well, she smelt divine.

Clearing her throat, Bella visibly shook her head. "Stop it," she scolded herself before returning to the topic at hand.

Running through the last very scenarios, Bella's only option was to compare them to the woman with flaming locks. Each of her interactions with the Cullens had been in a social setting - school, the grocery store, and even the hospital. Those threw her for a loop, for why would a vampire go to school, shop, or work? More so, why would a vampire work at a hospital? Is that where they acquired their food?

Pinching the bridge of her nose as each question was answered with three more she banged her head against the border of the window. Just like at the computer, her thoughts were getting her nowhere helpful.

Closing her eyes, Bella inhaled deeply once more. As the fresh spring air and the scent of pine filled her core, Bella couldn't help as her mind brought to surface a specific caramel-haired woman she was desperately trying not to think about. Despite her best efforts, the harder she tried to avoid doing so, the more vivid the image of Esme grew. This was especially so when Bella recalled how the woman's caramel locks would sway in the breeze, appearing to glow almost heavenly so in the faint rays of sunlight.

Opening her eyes, Bella gazed at the stars. For a moment, she wondered how the woman would appear beneath the moonlight and if her golden hues would light up like they did when they conversed.

If she did accept Jake's word at face value, and it did turn out that a vampire's eyes could be any other color but what they consumed, then what? Should she just go ahead and cancel her plans with Esme and simply avoid the family to the best of her ability? Or were they peaceful creatures that performed normal day-to-day activities like her to blend in with a society full of humans?

Dismissing the idea of not seeing Esme again as her chest grew uncomfortably tight, as if someone or something was trying to rip the organ from its little cavity, Bella's brows furrowed at the sensation. She was in trouble if her heart was going to pine over someone she wasn't destined to be with. Disturbed by notion, Bella began to focus on a different avenue. Surely she should keep an eye on them, even if they came across as non-threatening. And to accomplish this new plan, Bella was going to have to get close to at least one of them.

As she began to focus on her new train of thought, Bella suddenly banged her head against the windowsill once more. "Stupid, stupid, stupid," Bella groaned as a sudden realization hit her. If she was beginning to suspect them, would they be onto her? Had she given away any indications that she was abnormal?

Rubbing her face with both hands, Bella sighed as she debated her options. Would she be better off avoiding them to hide her secrets or would that cause them to become suspicious and investigate?

Determining to stick with her original plan or keeping in contact, if nothing else than to be aware of what the family knew and were planning, Bella closed her eyes as her next concern moved to the forefront of her mind.

What was she going to do about the woman in the forest? Should she go after a creature that was inclined to murder humans? And if she did, then what? Was she up for that fight? Bella knew she was capable of taking out any wild animal she had come across, but she wasn't so sure about fighting a supernatural creature. If nothing else, the one lesson she had taken away from her mother's stories was to be wary of anything that went bump in the night.

Allowing her mind to wander about what to do in regards to both the Cullens and the mysterious woman, brown eyes eventually sprung open as a quiet _snap_ rang out across the way.

Gazing down yard below, Bella quickly scanned the shadows until spotting what looked to be flames dancing along the tree line. Blinking once, Bella's eyes honed in on the very woman she had been thinking about. Before she could so much as move or call out, the woman dropped what looked like an old dog at the fringe where freshly mowed grass met wild bushes. Bella could see that a leg was missing and the neck had been rendered apart, whilst the fur was matted with blood long dried and cooled by the open air.

Rather than pay the dead animal any attention, however, brown eyes fixate on crimson. Transfixed by the sight, a pale hand clenched the side of the window to allow a lithe frame to lean forward to see around the branches "Hello?" Bella called, quiet in an effort to not wake Charlie.

Instead of a verbal response back, the woman tensed and looked to the far side of the yard.

Turning her head to see what had caught the red-head's attention, brown eyes widened in surprise as a red-brown wolf with black eyes and the size of a horse emerged from the trees.

Although Bella saw no indications from the woman, she felt as if the two were silently communicating. Before she could determine what about, a low growl escaped from between exposed fangs. Fur bristling, the wolf launched across the open space simultaneously as the woman disappeared into the forest.

"Wait!" Bella cried. Lurching forward, Bella fumbled before falling to the floor of her bedroom. Her legs, tangled in the sheets, remained suspended against her bedside.

Exhaling slowly to calm her racing heart, Bella closed her eyes for a moment as her brain struggled to catch up. She could feel the wood beneath her back and the silk sheets about her ankles. Blinking once and then twice, Bella finally noticed her alarm going off on the bedside table.

Carefully, with almost painfully slow movements, Bella slid her legs free of their entrapment. Rolling over onto her hands and knees she quickly slapped the silencer on the clock before resting back on her calves. Now that she was sitting up, Bella realized that the sun was starting to rise through a closed window and blinds.

Confused, Bella glanced at the clock. Realizing it was already a quarter past seven, Bella jumped up and dashed to the bathroom to get ready as thoughts about the wolf and vampire were put on pause.

Twenty minutes and a cold shower later, Bella returned to her bedroom to grab her bag. About to leave her room, brown eyes landed on the window for a second time that morning. Brows furrowing in further uncertainty, long legs carried their own across the room. Pulling the blinds back, Bella quickly opened the window only to note that the screen was in place. Not bothering to remove the object, Bella quickly scanned the yard. Not seeing anything out of ordinary, brown eyes closed only to be replaced by green. Gazing about the yard once more, Bella still failed to spot any signs of vampires, wolves, dead dogs or even blood.

Sighing, Bella latched the window shut before disappearing downstairs for a quick breakfast. Honestly, she wasn't sure if she would be more relieved to find something or nothing.

* * *

"You look like someone swallowed you whole and spat you back out," Jessica remarked as she sat next to Bella at lunch a few hours later. "Rough night?"

"Yeah, you could say that," Bella sighed. If imagining vampires coming into your backyard with a dead dog in her arms only to be chased off by wolves was anything to go by, then one might deem her evening as such. Add to that that she was now wondering if she was just having very lucid dreams or if she was beginning to go crazy didn't help matters either.

"What-" Jessica began, only to have her next question interrupted as Eric plopped down at the table.

"It's not fair!" Eric complained.

"What isn't?" Bella inquired while stifling a yawn, grateful for the diversion. She was in no mood to discuss what did or did not occur last night. Stretching her back with her arms reaching across the table, Bella's body convulsed for a moment before she sat up right.

"He's just jealous that the Cullens aren't here today," Angela answered as she sat down on Bella's other side. Eyeing Bella curiously after watching her stretch, Angela asked a question of her own. "You okay?"

"Yeah, just couldn't sleep. Why is Eric jealous?" Bella redirected the topic once again even as she craned her neck to search the cafeteria. It wasn't that she didn't believe her classmates, she was just surprised, especially considering her dreams.

Were the stories true that vampires feared the sun? Snorting at the audacity her brain concocted, Bella rested on the table once more. The Cullens had been in class every day thus far. _Yeah, but was it sunny those days?_ Bella's mind inquired. _Stop it,_ Bella scolded herself instantly. _They're probably just enjoying the rare break in the bleak weather._ She knew she would be if Charlie would let her.

"Whenever the weather's nice, the Cullens disappear," Jessica shrugged as if it was nothing unusual.

"They just ditch?" Bella pouted. She could understand Eric's complaint. A nice long catnap in the sun sounded divine at that particular moment, if she did say so herself.

"No. Dr. and Mrs. Cullen yank them out to go hiking, camping, anything outdoors really," Jessica corrected. "I've tried the idea out on my parents but they've never bit. Anyways," Jessica turned to Angela to point her fork at the Asian. Ignoring the lettuce still hanging off the tongs, Jessica swapped topics as if disinterested in discussing something she would never obtain. "Lauren's down to go to Port Angeles tonight. Are you still in?"

"Definitely," Angela beamed.

"Bella?"

Distracted by her thoughts of the Cullens crisperizing in the sun and how good it would feel to crisperize herself, Bella failed to notice that Jessica had addressed her as well.

"Bella?" Jessica asked, waving her hand in front of the brunette. "Bella. Geeze. Bella!" Jessica finally yelled, causing a few heads to turn around.

"What? Oh. Yes? I mean, what?" Bella finally acknowledged, sitting up so she'd pay attention.

"Seriously, you're weird," Jessica huffed. "Anyways, Port Angeles?"

"What about it?" Bella blinked in confusion. She hadn't the slightest clue what her classmate was referring to.

"You're hopeless," Jessica sighed as the bell rang. "Come on."

* * *

Leaning back in her chair, Bella balanced precariously upon the back two legs of her chair as one foot hooked around the leg of the table to keep from falling over.

The content of her Biology class failed to even enter one ear as Bella's focus remained on the beam of sunshine that filtered through the window beside her desk and directly onto Edward's chair.

Why had the Cullens ditched? Were they really bothered by the sun?

On one hand, Bella didn't mind not having to sit next to someone who stared at her all during class. But, on the other hand, Bella was confused by the circumstances of the event. Since last night she'd been wracking her brain trying to resolve if what Jake had said was true.

She just needed more information and Forks was not going to readily provide it.

Picking up her pencil, Bella pinched the middle of the writing utensil before wiggling the item between her fingers. Watching as she tried to make the pencil appear to bend, Bella failed to notice as a large hand slammed down on the desk in front of her.

With a yelp, Bella teetered back into the desk behind her before sliding haphazardously down to the floor with the chair straddled between her legs on its back.

"Bella!" Mr. Molina scolded.

Realizing that her biology professor had been talking to her, Bella ignored the laughter in the room as the back of her neck began to heat up unbearably so. "Yes, Mr. Molina?"

"I had asked, _what type of cellular respiration does not require oxygen_?"

"Uh...anaerobic respiration?" Bella supplied once standing and straightening her chair.

Eyeing her for a moment, Mr. Molina turned about with a huff and returned to the front of the class. "Good. Now, pay attention!"

"Yes, Mr. Molina," Bella murmured as she flopped back down in her seat. Dropping onto the table, Bella buried her face in her arms as the snickers continued about her.

Continuing to pay attention to the lecture, Bella's head eventually rotated back to the side to stare at the unwavering sunshine. She needed to figure something out and soon.

Jake was a wealth of information and all, but everything he had to offer was based off legends, legends he didn't believe held any weight to it. She couldn't blame him, she hadn't believed the various legends that her mom parted on her when she was younger. Frowning, Bella realized that if she could simply outright ask someone else on the reservation then she might get somewhere. Regrettably, the last thing she wanted to add was another run-in with Sam and his goons.

The internet it would be then, but that had proved to be fruitless as well. Well, all except for one thing, Bella amended as she recalled a link offering up information about a bookstore in Port Angeles.

Perhaps she would join them tonight. It couldn't hurt. Well, as long as she didn't have to go dress shopping, she corrected.

* * *

"I'm so glad you decided to join us," Angela whispered in confidence as they entered the store a little after Jessica.

Smiling, Bella understood why her friend had made such a remark. It was the third store they had been in since arriving to Port Angeles that afternoon and they still had not acquired a single gown for the dance. Angela had been happy with three dresses in the first store and two in the last, Jessica, however, determined that none of them would do. The only bright side Bella saw was that Lauren had to bail at the last minute.

"I am...too?" Bella offered in response, causing the Asian to roll her eyes.

"You really don't like shopping do you," Angela teased, her eyes dancing in merriment.

"For the right things I don't mind," Bella shrugged.

"And that is?" Jessica rounded on Bella and Angela, an armful of dresses already in hand.

"Um…" Wracking her brain quickly, Bella debated on what to reply. Wood? Nails? Power tools? Anything that would allow her to complete her projects, really. However, each of those options made her feel awkward for some reason. Instead, she went with a safer reply. "Books?" Bella finally decided.

"There's actually a few good bookstores in the area," Angela offered as she gathered the load out of Jessica's grasp to help her friend. "Want to go check one out while we finish up here?"

"But Angela! We need her opinion!" Jessica complained.

"No we don't." Rolling her eyes for a second time, Angela spun the brunette about by the shoulder and directed her to find more dresses. Turning back around, the Asian shifted the articles in her arms. "You're welcome to keep us company, but you're also allowed to have some fun," the noirette smiled as she addressed Bella.

"I am havin-" Bella began only to be cut off as Angela arched an eyebrow. Huffing, Bella rubbed the back of her head as she grinned a bit sheepishly. "Okay, yeah. Clothes shopping really isn't my cup of tea," Bella admitted with a sigh. "I don't mind though."

"Bella, go." Angela smiled softly.

Hesitating for a moment, Bella grimaced as she saw Jessica coming back with another armload. "You sure you two don't mind?"

"Not at all. Jessica and I'll probably still be here by the time you return," Angela joked as she noticed where Bella was looking.

Bella could believe it. Thus far, each store had taken over an hour. "Well, there is one I was interested in," Bella began.

"Go. Text us and we'll let you know where we're at," Angela ordered before disappearing to find her friend.

With nothing to stop her, Bella escaped into the sunshine before her friends, or more so Jessica, could change their minds.

* * *

"Is this all for today?" the cashier inquired.

"Yes, please."

"That'll be $17.49 then."

Pulling her wallet out of her back pocket, Bella handed over a twenty. Tapping her fingers lightly on the countertop, she waited for her change before gathering up the bag. "Thanks!"

"You're welcome, come again!" the man smiled as Bella left the bookstore.

She had been in luck. Due to Jessica's store hopping, they ended up only a few blocks away from Thunderbird and Whale Bookstore. To make matters even better, Bella had found a book regarding Quileute history. It was an old, brown tomb with dried up parchment, but the text looked promising. Being the only lead Bella had, she just went with the purchase.

Tucking the book into her messenger bag, Bella glanced at the time on her phone as she debated on what to do next. She was dreading returning to the dress store just yet, but she also knew wandering down to the bay to read was out of the question as well. Debating for another moment, Bella decided to go with something in between. She would simply stroll through Port Angeles and take the long way back.

Sliding her headphones off her neck, Bella slipped them into place over her pale ears before scrolling through her playlist. Deciding on a song, Bella crossed the road and headed in a random direction as _Losing my Religion_ began to whisper through the headset.

* * *

 **A/N:** I didn't realize how much I had scribbled away until I did a quick count check. I decided to split this ch. into two parts simply to provided an earlier update. Seeing that I'm trying to keep to the storyline, at least somewhat, I'm sure there'll be action coming up in the next chapter.


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